Gujarat High Court not inclined to ban 'Pokemon Go'

The Gujarat High Court has said it is not inclined to ban a video game on the ground that it hurts "religious sentiments" clarifying that it is for the individual to decide whether he wants to play the game or not.

The reaction came from the division bench of Acting Chief Justice AS Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a ban on an augmented reality mobile game Pokemon Go.

During the recent hearing on the PIL, the state government also orally submitted that the game has become redundant these days and no untoward incident has been reported in the past several months since the petition was filed. It was also submitted that the game became popular in 2016 when the PIL came to be filed but does not command the similar popularity in 2018.

As per the petitioner, Alay Dave, the image of eggs shown in the augmented reality game appear in places of worship of different religious group. He had claimed that eggs are considered as non-vegetarian food and it is blasphemous to carry non-vegetarian food inside a place of worship of Hindus and Jains. Notably, people playing the game get their points in the form of virtual eggs which appears at religious sites.

The petitioner had also contended that the game was being used as a surveillance tool which is a threat to the national security. It has been also argued by Dave that it infringes upon privacy and can cause bodily injuries to players as they are supposed to walk around to score a point.

Meanwhile, the court has adjourned the matter until December 20 when it will be taken up for further hearing.

IN DEFENCE

During a recent hearing on the PIL, the state government orally sub-mitted that the game has become redundant and no untoward incident has been reported in the past several months since the petition was filed.