SC issues interim order not to implement PUBG ban
KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court today issued an interim order in the name of government authorities to not implement Kathmandu District Court's decision to ban popular online game Player Unknown’s Battleground (PUBG). A single bench of Justice Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada issued the order.
"It may been seen as a mere ban-lift on a mobile game, but what has actually happened and what this must be understood as is that this is a victory of the right to freedom of expression" said Advocate Prabin Subedi, he who had led the petition filed against the district court's decision at the apex court on Tuesday. A Writ Petition was filed at Supreme Court on Tuesday by a team of lawyers from Paramount Legal Advisory Services.
Subedi, after the interim order was issued, had tweeted :
Supreme Court gives Interim Order and asks not to execute the decision of Government of Nepal banning #PUBG in Nepal. #FoEinInternet
— Prabin Subedi (@Nepallawyer) April 19, 2019
"Nothing should be banned merely to fulfill demands of a few set of individuals. The focus should rather be on regulation, following proper channels, be it either through a regulatory body or by means of forming new laws," said law graduate Binaya Rimal, who was one among those who filed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Tuesday. "Regulation ensures that there is no discrimination against anyone or that nobody is directly affected. Bans that are outcomes of haphazard decisions do not solve anything, rather set bad precedents and invite complications," Rimal added.
The PIL was based on the ground that the order issued by Kathmandu District Court on request of Metropolitan Police Crime Division (MPCD) is a clear violation of fundamental rights of people as incorporated in the Constitution of Nepal.
