HC issues notice to Centre, Pb, Hry & Chd on Blue Whale issue

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today sought the response of the Centre, Punjab, Haryana and UT Chandigarh on a petition seeking a ban on the Blue Whale online game which has led to suicides by several youngsters.
A division bench comprising Justice A K Mittal and Justice Amit Rawal issued a notice of motion for September 20 in the matter. The petition was filed by Chandigarh based advocate Hitesh Kaplish.
"The court today issued notice to the Union ministry of Home Affairs, ministry of Telecommunications, Punjab, Haryana and Union Territory Chandigarh," said Kaplish.
The lawyer said he sought a ban on the Blue Whale game.

The government should frame a law or issue a notification to make access to the Blue Whale game illegal, he said.
The petitioner also sought directions against the publication of the name of online game in the newsreports.
"The publication of name of the game is somewhere leading to its publicity. We need a ban on the publication of this name in news," he said.
The petitioner argued that the Blue Whale game was leading to suicides by youngsters as they worked to finish their tasks in the online game. He also sought a 24-hour helpline number to help children by counselling them.