The Bombay High Court on Wednesday sought to know from the Medical Council of India (MCI) if online games such as PUBG have an adverse impact on children.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice BP Dharmadhikari and Justice NR Borkar directed the MCI to file an affidavit after noting that the Union government at present has no material to ascertain if such games have an adverse effect on children.
The bench was hearing public interest litigation filed by an 11-year-old boy seeking a ban on the mobile game PUBG. Ahad Nizam, who filed the petition through his mother in January 2019, said the game should be banned, as it promotes violence, aggression and cyberbullying.
The petition sought a direction to the government to ban the game. "The Medical Council of India can throw light on this," the court said.
Government pleader Purnima Kantharia told the court that the state government has instructed all schools to prohibit students from playing such games on school premises. "However, once students go home, then parental control is required," she said.
"The petition has also sought a direction to the Central government to form an online ethics reviews committee to keep a periodical check on such violence-oriented content online," petitioner's lawyer Tanveer Nizam said.
