The game has allegedly triggered many suicides, particularly among the teenagers.
THE PUNJAB and Haryana High Court Monday sought response from the Centre, states of Punjab and Haryana and the Chandigarh administration on a petition seeking ban on the controversial ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ online game and directions for restraining media from reporting the incidents related to the game.
The same day, the Supreme Court also agreed to hear a similar Public Interest Litigation (PIL) related to the game. The High Court has issued notice to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Telecommunication, Secretaries of the Home departments of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on the petition filed by a Chandigarh-based lawyer, Hitesh Kaplish.
“I was talking with my wife about the game at home. My daughter, who was present, mentioned that she knows about the game and has read about it on Wikipedia. I realised it is dangerous for children,” Kaplish told The Indian Express.
A division bench of Justices Ajay Kumar Mittal and Amit Rawal listed the case for hearing for September 20 and also issued notice for stay on access to the game and from restraining the print and electronic media from reporting about the incidents related to the game to prevent its publicity. The game has allegedly triggered many suicides, particularly among the teenagers.
“This a scary game wherein youngsters who have access to it are asked to complete certain tasks within a period of 50 days. It is pertinent to mention here that this deadly online game has led many youngsters around the world to kill themselves,” advocate Hitesh claimed.
The petitioner has alleged that the Centre has not “done anything substantial to ban access to the game.”
