5G lawsuit: High Court relief to Juhi Chawla; fine cut to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 20 lakh earlier

In June last year, a single judge had described the lawsuit by Chawla and two others against 5G rollout as 'defective", 'abuse of process of law'

In a relief to Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla, the Delhi High Court on Thursday reduced the costs slapped on her for filing a plea against the introduction of 5G technology from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh also expunged the adverse remarks made against her by the single-judge bench which held that the suit filed by Chawla and others was frivolous and intended for publicity.

Senior Advocates Salman Khurshid and Chawla, who herself appeared before the court, agreed to be part of Delhi State Legal Services Authority's programme for the cause of marginalised women and children following a suggestion by the court.

In its order, the bench said, "We reduce the cost from Rs 20 to two lakhs. We are inclined to retain the part of the cost since we do find that the application moved along with the plaint were completely wrong."

The court noted Chawla has appeared before it and volunteered that she would work with DSLSA in whose favour the cost had been awarded and which is now reduced to Rs two lakh, to advance the cause of deprived children and women who are in need of legal aid. She stated that it would be an honour for her to render social service by featuring in their programme.

The bench also said that the suit by her may have been filed to espouse a genuine cause but the petitioners who did not have legal background or knowledge might have been unaware of the implications of the manner in which the plea came to be drafted.

On June 4, 2021, the High Court had dismissed her plea against the introduction of 5G technology with Rs 20 lakh for abusing the process of law.

"The suit was filed for publicity... also contained unnecessary, unverified and vexatious assertions," the court had said, imposing Rs 20 lakh cost on Chawla and two others Veeresh Malik and Teena Vachani.

The plea filed by Chawla and others 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 also contended that radiation would be 10 to 100 times greater than the existing levels, and no living species on the planet would be able to survive round the clock exposure.

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