Juhi Chawla’s 5G hearing interrupted by singing fans, Court orders contempt

By LE Staff

New Delhi, June 3, 2021: The Delhi High Court has termed the petition filed by Bollywood actor Juhi Chawla against the roll-out of 5G technology in India as “defective” and done for “media publicity”.

Justice J.R. Medha also asked why the actor had moved the court directly without first giving any representation to the government. “It is a defective plaint. This suit has been filed only for media publicity and nothing more than that. It is very shocking,” the judge said during the hearing yesterday, The Hindu reported.

The virtual hearing in the High Court yesterday on the actor’s plea was repeatedly interrupted by rogue singers. Remarkably, the actor had shared the link for the court hearing on Twitter and Instagram, inviting people to join in.

Juhi Chawla, who was a top Bollywood star in the 1990s, has petitioned the court against 5G on the grounds that it could have serious, irreversible effects on people and cause permanent damage to the environment.

The High Court ordered a contempt notice against fans singing songs from Juhi Chawla’s hit films.

In the middle of the arguments, singing fans became a steady annoyance and muting did not help. As soon as the hearing started and the actor logged on, someone started singing the song ”Ghoonghat ki aad se” from her 1993 movie “Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke”.

“Please mute,” said Judge Midha.

A little later, someone burst into song again and was removed from the hearing.

After the third time, the judge directed that the person be identified and a contempt notice be issued, NDTV reported.

“I hope this isn’t being done by some respondent,” remarked the actor’s lawyer Deepak Khosla, appearing via video link from South Africa.

The lawsuit by Juhi Chawla, Veeresh Malik and Teena Vachani claims that if the telecom industry’s plans for 5G becomes a reality, “no person, animal, bird, insect and plant on earth will be able to avoid exposure, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to levels of RF radiation that are 10x to 100x times greater than what exists today.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central government, also said that the suit was frivolous. Mr. Mehta said 5G policy did not fall in the category of public nuisance and it was obviously not prohibited in law. He said the petitioner needed to show how the technology was wrongful and termed the suit “an ill-conceived litigation”.

The actor, in her plea, had sought a scientific study on any adverse effects of radio frequency radiation emitted by cellular telecommunications using 5G technology on “health, life, organ or limb of adult or child, or to flora and fauna” before its official roll-out in the country.

The petition has sought to direct the government, and the Science and Engineering Research Board in particular, to certify that deployment of 5G technology for cellular communications posed no reasonable risk or hazard.

It also urged the authorities to rope in the Indian Council of Medical Research, the Central Pollution Control Board and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to conduct their respective studies on the issue.

The plea cited the example of Brussels (Belgium), which it claimed became the first major city in the world to actually halt any further steps in 5G roll-out in April 2019 on account of recognised health hazards.