By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Delhi State Legal Services Authority Thursday informed the Delhi High Court that it does not wish to pursue its plea seeking execution of the order directing actress Juhi Chawla and two others to deposit Rs 20 lakh as costs in its favour on a lawsuit against 5G technology, as she has voluntarily agreed to campaign for the committee.
Justice Amit Bansal allowed DSLSA to withdraw the execution petition in view of a division bench’s order which has reduced the amount of the costs from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 lakh while setting aside the June 2021 order of a single judge.
“In view of the division bench’s January 27 order passed in the appeal, decree-holder (DSLSA) wishes to withdraw the execution petition. The execution petition is dismissed as withdrawn,” Justice Bansal said.
The court was informed by DSLSA advocate Saurabh Kansal that the actress has volunteered to work with the committee and feature in the programmes for empowering the marginalised section of the society.
When the judge asked if the amount has been paid by Chawla, the DSLSA counsel replied in negative and said as the actress has volunteered to campaign for them, in good faith they want to withdraw the execution petition.
In the execution petition, filed through Kansal and advocate Pallavi S Kansal, DSLSA sought assistance from the court by seeking issuance of warrants of attachment and sale of the movable and immovable properties for recovery or directions for civil imprisonment of Chawla and others.
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” and filed for “gaining publicity” while dismissing it with costs of Rs 20 lakh which were to be deposited with DSLSA within a week.
Chawla filed an appeal against the single judge order and besides setting aside the June 2021 order, the division bench also expunged the remarks made against Chawla that she had filed the lawsuit for gaining publicity and that it was defective and abuse of process of law.
The division bench said she did not take up the 5G issue in a frivolous and casual manner.
While dismissing the lawsuit, the single judge had said the plaint in which questions have been raised about health hazards due to the 5G technology was “not maintainable” and was “stuffed with unnecessary scandalous, frivolous and vexatious averments” which are liable to be struck down.
The single judge had said the suit filed by actress-environmentalist and others was to gain publicity which was clear as Chawla circulated the video conferencing link of the hearing on her social media account which resulted in the repeated disruptions thrice by unknown miscreants who continued disruptions despite repeated warnings.
The appellants had reiterated their concerns surrounding the harmful impact of 5G technology and had submitted, “every day that the 5G trials are allowed to continue constitutes a distinct and imminent danger to the health of the people who reside in the vicinity of the area where the trials are being conducted.”
The lawsuit had sought direction to the authorities to certify to the public at large how 5G technology is safe to humans, animals, and every type of living organism, flora, and fauna.
