Petitioner says game offends religious sentiments and threatens national security

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the State and Central governments, and to Niantic Inc., a U.S.-based software company that develops augmented reality mobile games like Pokémon Go, in a petition seeking regulation of the popular game Pokemon Go on the grounds that it offends the religious sentiments of Hindus and Jains, and threatens national security.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice R. Subhash Reddy and Justice V.M. Pancholi issued the notices to San Francisco-based developer of the game, Niantic, Inc., the Central and the State governments.

As per the PIL, among other things, the image of eggs shown in the augmented reality game appears in places of worship of different religious groups.

The petitioner said eggs are considered a 'non-vegetarian' food, and it is blasphemous to carry such food inside some places of worship.

"….from operation of the said game Pokemon Go, it is established that for the purpose of scoring "point" and the further progress in the game, an "egg" is offered and described even in the places of worship. Offering eggs to people in temples, even in virtual world, is highly objectionable and amounts to blasphemy," the petitioner's lawyer Nachiket Dave argued.

“People playing the game get their points in the form of virtual eggs which generally appear in the places of worship of different religious groups. To find an egg in temples of Hindus and Jains is blasphemous, and therefore my client has sought ban on the game from the country,” Mr. Dave said.

According to him, the popular game strikes at the root of the Hindu culture and religion. "The obnoxious and horrendous action on the part of Niantic Inc thoroughly endeavors to destroy the cultural fabric and religious and spiritual individuality of India.

The PIL also raised the issue of game being used as surveillance tool. The PIL cited an example of police in Missouri, U.S. solving a case of robbery using the geo-location futures of ‘Pokemon Go’.