Punjab lawyer files PIL seeking to ban PUBG Mobile

It's 2020 and here we are yet again. HC Arora, a Chandigarh based lawyer, has filed a petition in Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking to ban PUBG mobile. The petition likens the effect of PUBG mobile to drugs. 

In the petition, he said that the school going children pay more attention to the game than they pay to studies. 

“Mobile game called “PUBG” (Player Unknown’s Battle Grounds) has become very popular amongst the school going children, who are now more attracted to this game than to their studies, or for that matter, their homework. They remain glued to the mobile phone watching and actively participating in the aforesaid mobile game.” 

The lawyer further went on to allege that the game caused mental and physical health issues that neither the parents nor the children were aware of. He also said that the violence in the game was a problem saying that the game “virtually converts the players into future criminals and murderers.” 

“This game is a violent game; and excessive violence triggers aggressive thoughts, emotions and behaviour, which ultimately affects the mental health of the player, which leads to gaming addiction. Playing too much PUBG can make the children less productive. This is not good for their mental health. The entire game teaches the children as to how to catch hold of the targeted person and to kill him. It virtually an attempt to convert the children into future criminals and murderers.” 

After hearing the matter, the High Court Bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha and Rajiv Sharma directed the plea to Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, saying 

“It is made clear that we are not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case and the authority will be at liberty to take all the facts and facets into consideration and thereafter accept or reject the representation of the petitioner in accordance with law.” 

As per MEITY, the matter is now under examination by them. 

 You can read the whole plea here and the HC order here.