‘I’ll let you decide if it was a publicity stunt’: Juhi Chawla breaks silence after 5G lawsuit

Actor Juhi Chawla has broken her silence over the Supreme Court dismissing her lawsuit related to the implementation of 5G mobile technology in India in June. Sharing a video, Juhi wrote, "It was about time. I'll let you decide if it was a publicity stunt."

In the video, Juhi spoke in detail about how she approached different organisations and parliamentary committees about the issue. She also mentioned how her fight against installation of cellular towers began. Juhi said that she saw 14 cellular towers suddenly crop in at the Sahyadri Guest House right in front of her own home. She saw a news report about the harmful effects of cellular radiations on human health and decided to call up agencies who could help her find out if she and her family were affected by radiation from cell towers too.

When the agency arrived at her home, Juhi said their metres were recording the maximum reading they were capable of. A few weeks later, the agency submitted a report to her, mentioning the various areas in her home with harmful levels of radiation, which could lead to multiple health issues such as headaches, memory loss and irregular blood pressure.

Juhi then ran from pillar to post, giving presentations, filing PILs and petitions, seeking removals of the towers outside her home. It was found out that 13 out of 14 towers were illegally installed and were removed. This was when others from the country also started seeking her advice on how to fight against the cell towers cropping up outside their homes as well.

Juhi was trolled online for her case against the 5G technologies. SC Justice Midha, while passing the judgement in June, had said Juhi Chawla and the other two plaintiffs abused the process of law and also imposed a cost of ₹20 lakh on plaintiffs. The court, in order, had said it appears that the suit was for publicity.

Juhi has now said in a statement, "Whatever transpired in June, left me feeling hurt and confused. On one hand, I received some bad press and publicity, on the other, I received heart warming messages from unknown people telling me they were genuinely and completely in support. One such message was from a group of farmers in Maharashtra which brought tears to my eyes , they wished to carry out a voluntary drive to collect a small sum of money from each of their 10,000 farmer community to help me pay the hefty penalty, I had been fined with."

"Moments like these made me grateful that no matter what, I had lent a voice to the health concerns of many, many simple people of my country. When the storm died down, and I could see more clearly, I became calm and strong because I realised what an important, timely, relevant and impacting question I had raised. Had it not been so, would the world have erupted the way it did?!"

"All this while I remained silent, because I believe silence has its own deafening sound, but now I'd like to bring forth some very important and shocking details of happenings, in my 11 year journey of discovering EMF radiation, its health effects and the glaring ignorance of certain authorities in this regard. I hope you can make some time to watch this video," she said.