SC likely to hear plea for ban on Blue Whale game

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is likely to hear on Friday a plea seeking a ban on online game Blue Whale Challenge.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud will be taking up the matter.Petitioner NS Ponnaiah in his plea has said that the macabre online game is gaining popularity and has claimed 200 lives in India.

The petitioner has demanded an immediate ban on the game and accused the Centre of not taking enough steps to make people aware of the dangers of the game.The Blue Whale Challenge is reportedly a suicide game in which the player is given certain tasks to complete over a period of 50 days and the final task leads him or her to commit suicide.

The challenge starts by asking participants via social media to draw a whale on a piece of paper, then carve a whale figure on their body. It is followed by other tasks such as watching horror movies alone or waking up at unearthly hours.The tasks also involve self-harm, while the final challenge is to commit suicide.The player is also asked to share photos after finishing each challenge.The game has so far claimed lives of at least 250 people worldwide.