Almost a decade ago, as ‘Blue Whale’ sent shockwaves across India, SC, HC had weighed in on dangers online
The game was the rage in India in 2017-18. After several suicides were allegedly linked to the Blue Whale challenge and petitions filed against it, courts had issued directions to protect children
Following the deaths of three sisters in Ghaziabadby suicide, initial reports attributed to Ghaziabad Police sources suggested that their parents objected to their “excessive online gaming”. Police later clarified that while the sisters were obsessed with “Korean culture” and appeared to be living in a Korean fantasy world online, there was no angle of online gaming in the tragedy.
Nearly a decade before the tragedy, the Supreme Court and Madras High Court had weighed in on the dangers of online task-based games such as the Russian ‘Blue Whale Challenge’, and the discussion also addressed some broad questions about the trend of young people living in a parallel universe online, disconnected from the real world.
THE MADRAS HIGH COURT issued a slew of directions “in larger public interest” to the Centre and Tamil Nadu government on September 12, 2017. The HC asked CERT-In, the national nodal agency responding to incidents relating to online security, to collect digital devices used by the purported victims of the game, to conduct digital forensic analyses to locate the source of the game and its administrators, and to direct Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to remove all related links and hashtags being circulated on social media and the dark net.
The court also said that the government “must seek cooperation and use its diplomatic relationship with Russia to block the URLs/links related to Blue Whale game”. It directed the government to initiate penal action against culprits in India, and to consider amending the relevant laws and rules of the digital space to ensure intermediaries share all requisite data with law enforcement agencies.
THE SUPREME COURT heard two PILs that alleged 100 people had died by suicide across the country while playing the game that involved taking on 50 self-destructive challenges, with the final step being to take one’s own life. The death challenge had spread “over the cities of our country such as Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Dehradun, Chennai and the State of Kerala, West Bengal and Assam and rest of country”, the top court was told.
In October and November 2017, the SC issued several directions, including asking Doordarshan to prepare a programme “in consultation with the Ministries of Women & Child Development and Human Resource Development to telecast educative messages/ clips of appropriate duration at the relevant time about the evil impact of Blue Whale”. The court also directed state chief secretaries to issue circulars to improve awareness among parents, educators, and in schools “about the danger such games propagate by bringing people into a trap”.
Similar PILs were filed at the time in the High Courts of Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, and Punjab and Haryana, and several states issued advisories.
Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court
Professional Profile
Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.
Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).
Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:
High-Profile Case Coverage
She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.
Signature Style
Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.
X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More
