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On Monday, Bollywood Actress Juhi Chawla moved the Delhi High Court, against the implementation of 5G in the country. This could mean repercussions for the ongoing 5G trials in the country.
Another Spanner in the Works for 5G Trials?
As reported by Bar and Bench, in her suit, Chawla along with Veeresh Malik and Teena Vachani, argued that 5G should not roll out until and unless 5G technology is "certified safe".
The plaint stated, "the essence of the suit – which addresses the dire and palpable risks to the public at large which an indiscriminate and admittedly-untested rollout of 5G cellular telecommunications technology entails - is that the State, on the principle that ‘prevention’ is better than ‘cure’, has an ongoing 24x7x365 duty to ensure the safety and health of its citizens, both the living as well as those yet to be born, which duty would extend to ensuring that products of a hazardous nature – or even a potentially hazardous nature - are not permitted to come into the economic mainstream till they are certified safe by the State, both for existing as well as future generations".
The party also informed the court that Brussels became the first major city in the world to halt 5G rollout. The Belgian capital did so on account of health hazards, back in April 2019. The petitioners further claimed that since 2001, many insurance companies refused to cover the alleged risk posed by telecom. However, the petitioners have not named any names.
The court will hear the case on 2nd June.
This petition could mean another spanner in the works for the much-delayed 5G trials and the 5G spectrum auction. The petitioners seek a halt on 5G rollout at a time when the country can benefit from it the most. India is quite behind on schedule in terms of 5G rollout and this petition could mean yet another slowdown.