Juhi Chawla’s pleas against fine frivolous: Delhi...

Juhi Chawla’s pleas against fine frivolous: Delhi...

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday termed as “frivolous” and said that it was shocked at pleas by Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla seeking waiver of ₹20 lakh cost imposed on them for their plea challenging 5G wireless network technology.

Justice J R Midha, who retired from the Delhi high court on Wednesday, said that he had never seen such a frivolous application in his judicial career.

“I was shocked to see such an application. This court took a lenient view and did not issue contempt when a clear case was made out... I was inclined. You say the court had no power to impose costs (but) the court has the power to issue contempt,” the court said as it took strong exception to the application.

Chawla had filed applications for waiver of costs and replacing the word “dismissed” in the judgment with “rejected”.

The court’s reaction came after Chawla’s counsel, senior Advocate Meet Malhotra, after withdrawing the application for waiver of costs, said that costs would either be deposited in a week or ten days or legal remedies against the same would be taken.

“I’m yet to see a person in my judicial career who is not willing to pay court fees,” it added.

“On one hand you move the frivolous application and on the other hand, you withdraw the application and plaintiffs are not even willing to gracefully deposit the costs,” the court said.

The court, however, granted one week to Chawla to deposit the fine.

Advocate Deepak Khosla appearing for Chawla said that the court fee has already been deposited. Malhotra clarified that the stand was not that the costs would not be paid, and did not even press the application for its waiver.

In June, the high court had dismissed the lawsuit by Chawla and others against the setting up of 5G wireless networks in the country and slapped a cost of ₹20 lakh.

The court had described the plea as “defective”, “abuse of process of law” and filed for “gaining publicity”. The judge had also issued a show-cause notice to a “disruptor” who started singing songs from Chawla’s movies, halting the proceedings thrice on June 2 in the matter.

It had also asked the Delhi police to identify the person and take action against him.

An unidentified person disrupted virtual proceedings of the Delhi high court thrice on June 2... until he was muted and finally thrown off the online proceedings because the participant did not stop singing songs from popular movies of actor Juhi Chawla -- one of the plaintiffs in the plea being heard by the judges.

On his farewell on Wednesday, Justice Midha played a song from a Bollywood movie Sadak 2 as the last thanksgiving to his own life.

“The last thanksgiving I want to give is to my own life for giving me this opportunity,” he said.

At the full court reference, Midha said that he is retiring with a lot of satisfaction.

“A judge’s job is to impart justice. I’m demitting office today with the fullest satisfaction of having discharged my responsibility as per the constitution, be it the district court or this Court,” he said.

Justice Midha was appointed as an Additional judge from April 11, 2008, and a permanent judge from July 6, 2011.

He had recently given a landmark judgment that allowed the citizens to feed community or stray dogs ending a long-lasting fight between the neighbours. He also formulated Special Scheme for Motor Accident Claims and also gave a ruling that conviction of the husband for the offence of murder amounts to cruelty to the wife and held to be a valid ground for divorce.

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