Pokémon Go in Indian court for 'hurting religious sentiments'

Augmented reality game Pokémon Go has landed up in an Indian court over allegations it is hurting the religious sentiments of millions of vegetarians, reports BBC.

The high court in Gujarat state was asked to ban the game because its images of eggs in places of worship were "blasphemous" to Hindus and Jains. The petition also cited infringement of privacy, and a possible threat of life to the players searching for Pokémons as further grounds for banning the game.

The court has asked the makers of Pokémon Go to respond to the charges.

It is unclear if the makers, Niantic Inc, will do so. The court move has been met with derision on social media.
The news invited ridicule on social media, with Pokémon Go trending on Twitter in India.

Many criticised the "frivolity" of the case, including former minister Shashi Tharoor who tweeted: "To file in the "Only in India" category! It would be funny if such frivolous cases didn't clog our judicial system."

Pokémon Go has not been officially released in India, but many still play thanks to workarounds. The game can be accessed from an Indian phone by signing into an iTunes account of any country where the game has been released.