KATHMANDU, April 19: The Supreme Court has issued interim order in the name of the government not to implement the decision to ban PUBG, a popular first person shooter multiple-player online game.
A single bench of Justice Ishwar Khatiwada issued the interim ruling on Friday. On April 11, the government had banned the PUBG after the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) requested the government to direct Nepal Telecom to ban the game.
The SC issued the interim ruling after a group of lawyers filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at the apex court against the government decision to ban the PUBG.
Avoid PUBG addiction
Earlier, the Kathmandu District Court had ordered to ban the game at the request of the Metropolitan Crime Division.
PUBG is an online multiplayer ‘battle royale’ game developed in 2017 by PUBG Cooperation—a video game company based in Korea. Having around 400 million users globally, it has created a buzz since it was introduced in smartphones. From café to social media, PUBG has been the center of conversation.
However, lately, teachers and parents had been demanding a ban on PUBG in Nepal due to the negative impacts of the game on the sleeping pattern and studies of students. According to the guardians, their children as so obsessed with the game that they stay awake the entire night playing PUBG.
It has been reported that a 20-year-old boy from India died due to playing PUBG continuously for 45 days. Gujarat was the first state in India to ban the game from primary level since it impacts the children’s minds.
