PIL filed against Pokemon Go for ‘hurting’ religious sentiments

While the developers of location-based augmented reality game Pokemon Go have faced legal hassles with respect to how some have people have taken advantage of the game’s concept to mug unsuspecting players, the game may face a slightly different issue in India.

According to PTI, a PIL has been filed in the Gujarat High Court against developers of Pokemon Go, alleging it hurts religious sentiments of certain communities by showing eggs in places of worship.

Filed by Alay Anil Dave, the PIL is likely to be heard tomorrow by a division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice Vipul Pancholi.

As per the plea, among other things, the image of eggs shown in the augmented reality game appear in places of worship of different religious groups. The petitioner has said 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.

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

Among other points raised against the game are that it infringes upon the privacy, and it poses threat of life and limbs to the players, who have to walk around to score a point. San Francisco-based developer of the game, Niantic Inc. and Central and state governments have been made the respondents.

Incidentally, India became one of the biggest market for the game despite the fact that it never officially released in the country.