The petitioner has argued that, the location based augmented reality game violates Hindu sentiments by making virtual eggs available at numerous pokestops, many of which are Hindu temples. He contended that such consumption of eggs inside a temple is against the Hindu sentiments which are explicit from the age old texts of the religion. The petition also claims that eggs should not be similarly displayed in Churches and Mosques, or any other place of worship.
To score bonus goodies, players visit to catch Pokémons at various landmarks called Pokestops, these goodies include virtual eggs at times, which hatch into the eponymous Pokémon or pocket monsters. Though the game has not been officially launched in India, enthusiasts have found hacks to play it anyway.
The petitioner has claimed in a different argument that the game violates privacy and safety of the citizens by promoting trespassing of property. The petitioner has his own conspiracy theory too, which has been mentioned in the petition, that the game is nothing but a surveillance tool for the CIA of the United States of America, thus this petitioner prompts immediate action for the sake of national security.
A bench Chief Justice R. S. Reddy and Justice V. M Pancholi has issued notices and reserved hearing later this month and has permitted the petitioner to send notice to the San Francisco based game developer, Niantic Inc.
Meanwhile, Niantic Inc has not made any comments pertaining to the petition. After, Apple this week announced that the game will be coming to the Apple Watch, Niantic Inc must give the petition some thought if it wants to introduce the game in India, which already has a huge fan base here.
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