Mumbai: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay high court to ban Tik-Tok application. TikTok is an application used to create, upload or share short lip-syncing comedy or music videos. The app was launched in 2017 by China-based developer Bytedance.

The Bombay high court will hear the Public Interest Litigation in due course.

The petition was filed by Mumbai-resident Heena Darvesh, a mother of three children. She alleged that the mobile application was affecting the young crowd, which can result in degradation of mental health. Further, the petition alleged that application was spreading hatred and enmity amongst religious groups and has affected the country’s diversity.

Darvesh, through her advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh from Mumbai, also sought records of deaths due to accidents caused by the use of TikTok from the government.

“The TikTok app is wasting time, money, resources of the executive and judiciary machineries of the country?” Ms Darvesh said.

The petitioner further stated that in July this year, two first information reports (FIRs) were registered in Mumbai, following controversial video/audio that allegedly sparked religious enmity. No action against the company running the application has been taken yet.

In April, the Madras high court had passed an order prohibiting the download and use of TikTok. The court had passed the order after expressing concern that the app hosts inappropriate content, including pornography, which is available for access to children. The bench had also expressed its consternation that minors are also exposed to strangers online through TikTok.

TikTok had subsequently challenged the order in the Supreme Court. The company had claimed that the Madras HC’s interim order was based on exaggerations made by the petitioner in the case. The Supreme Court, however, decided to defer consideration of the matter and directed the Madras high court to take a call. Ultimately, on April 24, the Madurai bench of the Madras high court lifted its ban.