'No hurry', HC on Juhi Chawla's plea against 5G network, will hear on Jan 25

The Delhi High Court would hear on January 25, the plea of Bollywood actress and environmentalist Juhi Chawla challenging its earlier order which dismissed her lawsuit against the setting up of 5G wireless networks in the country.

Observing that there is no urgency in the matter, a Division Bench comprising Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said the board is very heavy today and the hearing will take time.

Further, the matter was posted for January 25, 2022, after vacation.

The High Court in June had dismissed the lawsuit by Chawla and others against the setting up of 5G wireless networks in the country citing health hazards due to the technology. The court had slapped a cost of Rs 20 lakh on the petitioners. Justice Midha had described the plea as "defective", "abuse of process of law" and filed for "gaining publicity".

Presently, in the plea challenging the earlier court order, the petitioner contended that the suit can only be dismissed once it has been allowed to be registered as a suit by the Court.

The plea filed by Chawla, Veeresh Malik, and Teena Vachani claimed that 5G wireless technology can be a potential threat to provoke irreversible and serious effects on humans and it could also permanently damage the earth's ecosystems.

It contended that to levels of RF radiation that are 10x to 100x times greater than the existing levels, and no living species on the planet would be able to survive round-the-clock exposure.

On June 2, the High Court had also questioned Chawla as to why she had directly filed a suit against setting up of 5G wireless networks without making any representation to the department concerned in the government, and insisted the plaintiffs, Chawla and two others, should have gone to the government first.

The High Court had also expressed dissatisfaction at Chawla sharing the link of virtual hearing on her social media account.

The hearing of Chawla's suit was disturbed by unknown persons who were singing Bollywood songs of films in which she had acted. The court directed the Delhi Police to identify the people and proceed against them under the law.