SC rejects PIL on mobile tower radiation

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a PIL seeking implementation of stringent norms against radiation emission from mobile towers and handsets.

A bench of Justice H L Dattu and C K Prasad said since the government has set-up a Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cell  on  to regulate standards of mobile towers located in various towns and cities, the court found no need to intervene in the matter. “We got to give executives and legislature (a) free hand.

If they fail only then we can step in. We must not find fault with a body which has just come into existence. At present, we want to give some breathing space to the government. We can’t do a roving inquiry,” the court said.

“We are not inclined for the present to admit the petition,” the bench added. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), submitted that the mobile towers were emitting high level of radiation causing serious health hazards to the people.

He sought the court’s intervention saying that these towers had been installed in residential areas, and near schools and hospitals.

“The electromagnetic field (EMF) standards were lax and not being adhered to while there was also no authority to check the norms,” he said.

Bhushan, referred to a scientific study undertaken in 2007 in different countries, highlighting the dangers posed to the people by the high level of radiation.