Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 29: High Court today sought response from Union as well as State Governments to the plea seeking ban to online access to Players Unknown Battle Ground (PUBG) game.
The Division Bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice Tashi Rabstan observed to both the counsels to take remedial measures on their own if the game is harmful for users.
Counsel appearing for Secretary Union of India Ministry of Communications requested the court to grant him some time to respond to the plea and the court granted him four weeks time for the same.
Counsel appearing for State submitted before the court that he has to obtain feedback on the issue from health authorities including psychiatric opinion and for that some time be granted to respond to the plea. The court also granted him four weeks time.
Counsel for petitioners submitted before the court that a similar plea has been filed in Jammu wing of High Court and the State has filed the reply as such State counsel has no hindrance to file the reply in Srinagar wing.
The petitioners submit that since 2017, an online battle royal game by the name Players Unknown Battle Ground (PUBG) has been available in India which is a type of a video game in which a large number of players, starting with minimal equipment, search for weapons and armor and eliminate/knockout all other opponents while avoiding being trapped outside of a shrinking “safe area”, with the winner being the last competitor in the game.
“The game was simultaneously released in the State of Jammu & Kashmir as well and received a tremendous response from the teenagers and other tech savvy youth who instantly made it a routine to spend hours on the said online game. The craze went to such an extent that a restaurant upon the theme of PUBG game sprang up in the vicinity of Srinagar city”, reads the PIL.
It has further been submitted that Jammu and Kashmir is a militancy affected area and implementation of laws like Disturbed Areas Act and Armed Forces Special Power Act are a testimony to this assertion. In such docile and fragile conditions, the indulgence of youth in such online video games which are based on blood and violence along-with free and mindless use of arms including highly sophisticated armor and artillery creates a wrong precedence and breeds violent thoughts and criminal behavior in young minds.
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