Delhi HC junks plea by Juhi Chawla against rollout of 5G technology in India; imposes cost of Rs 20 lakh

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed the plea filed by Bollywood actor Juhi Chawla against the rollout of 5G technology in India.

The Bench of Justice JR Midha said that it appeared that the suit was filed to garner publicity, noting how Chawla had circulated web link of the hearing on social media.

The court, therefore, imposed costs of Rs. 20 lakh on Chawla and other plaintiffs for abusing the process of law.

"Plaintiffs abused process of law. Costs of Rs 20 lakh is imposed on plaintiffs. It appears suit was for publicity. Juhi Chawla circulated link of the hearing on social media," the court said, as per a report carried by Bar & Bench.

Taking note of the disruptions caused to the hearing on account of the link being made public by Chawla, the court directed that contempt notice be issued against the miscreants.

A direction was also passed to the Delhi Police to take action and submit a report before the court.

Justice JR Midha also ruled that the plaint was defective and not maintainable.

"No case made out for leave to institute suit (under Section 80).. or to sue in representative capacity. Plaint is defective and not maintainable," the court held.

Further, the court noted that Chawla not only did not comply with the mandate under Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure but also flouted several other mandates under the Code.

Importantly, the court said that the plaint was not verified. It noted that only a few paragraphs were said to be "true to their knowledge".

"There is no personal knowledge of averments. Plaint based on legal advise not maintainable," the judgment said.

After the pronouncement, advocate Deepak Khosla, appearing for Chawla and other plaintiffs, sought a stay on the order.

He submitted that the imposition of costs was without any legal basis.

Rejecting the request, Justice Midha remarked, "Matter is over. You have your legal remedies."

Chawla along with Veeresh Malik and Teena Vachani (plaintiffs) filed the suit before the High Court, arguing that until and unless 5G technology is "certified safe", its roll out should not be permitted.

Chawla and others had argued that it was an established fact that there "could be danger of imminent nature" due to 5G and as per RTI responses, no studies had been conducted on the same.

The Central government, however, contended that the suit was not maintainable in view of Sections 80 and 91 of the CPC.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, submitted that the suit was frivolous and barred under Section 9 of the Code.

During the hearing that took place on Wednesday, the court had said that the plaint was defective and had been filed for media publicity.

The court had also opined that there several lapses in Chawla's plaint in terms of the Code of Civil Procedure.

The hearing on Wednesday was also marred by uncouth conduct by an unidentified visitor who started singing songs from Chawla's movies.