Bollywood actor sues Indian government over 5G conspiracy theories, court hearing descends into chaos

‘This is unacceptable. The man must be charged with poor song selection. These are not her best’

Indian Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla visits the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar on 13 December 2016 (AFP via Getty Images)

Rowdy fans singing Hindi film songs on Wednesday repeatedly disrupted live proceedings of an India court as it heard a plea filed by a Bollywood actor on the setting up of 5G networks in the country.

Actor Juhi Chawla had moved Delhi High Court on Monday seeking a scientific study on the adverse effects of radiation emitted by 5G technology on the health of human beings and on flora and fauna before its official rollout in the country.

In the plea, Chawla had sought a direction to the government and the Science and Engineering Research Board to certify that the deployment of this technology posed no significant risk.

It was when the court was virtually hearing the matter that disruptions by unknown persons began, starting with the questions: “Where is Juhi ma’am? I can’t see her.”

Since interruptions are not uncommon at the beginning of a virtual hearing, the judge chose to ignore it, reported the Times of India.

Soon after Chawla joined the proceeding, one of the individual started singing “Ghoonghat ki aad se Dilbar ka...” a popular Bollywood song from her hit 1993 film Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, interrupting arguments on the merit of her case.

Justice JR Midha promptly directed the anonymous singer to set themselves on ‘mute’. However, according to media reports, the proceeding was again interrupted by a person singing another song from one of her movies. This time, the disruptor was removed from the hearing.

When the incident repeated itself for the third time, the judge directed the IT Department of the Delhi High Court to identify the person, while issuing a contempt notice against them.

“I hope this isn’t being done by some respondent,” remarked the actor’s lawyer, Deepak Khosla.

The actor had shared the link to the court hearing on her Twitter and Instagram handle, asking the supporters of her cause to join in, inviting derision on social media.

“#JuhiChawla urged everyone to join virtual hearing & shared link here She wrote “Feel Free” to join If judges are looking for contempt of court or want to charge anyone for disturbances. Here’s the evidence (sic),” tweeted a person.

“This is unacceptable. The man must be charged with poor song selection. These are not her best. OK, Ghoonghat ki can pass but the other two definitely are contempt of court,” joked a user.

“Planning to sing Juhi Chawla songs after entering random Clubhouse rooms,” wrote a user.