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print versionThe Editors Guild of India
Press Statement
February 18, 2025
The Editors Guild of India is deeply shocked by the recent blocking of the Tamil magazine web portal Vikatan.Com, without any prior due process, by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) over the publication of a cartoon depicting the prime minister.
Cartoons have always been a legitimate means of journalistic endeavour and the sudden blocking of the Vikatan website is a brazen instance of overreach by the authorities.
What is more deplorable is the abrupt manner in which access to the entire web portal was blocked, purportedly, after the state head of a political party complained to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), against the said cartoon. No prior notices were issued and no opportunity was given to Ananda Vikatan - the group behind the web portal – for a fair hearing.
The Editors Guild is further appalled to learn that after the website was blocked, a notice was sent to the publishers, calling them for a hearing by an Inter-Departmental Committee constituted under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules 2021), to consider the request for blocking. In a manner of speaking, after an order was arbitrarily implemented, due process was initiated.
It is to be further noted that there is already a stay by the Bombay High Court, on Rule 9(1) and (3) of the IT Rules 2021, which pertains to the Code of Ethics, and therefore limiting the powers of the Inter-Departmental Committee to examine complaints against publishers on these grounds.
The entire episode smacks of high-handedness and militates against the cherished ideals of a free press. The blocking of the website, coming amid growing concerns over media freedom in the country, does no good to India’s democratic traditions that value fair play and transparency.
The Guild is also saddened to learn that the cartoonist behind the work has been subjected to harsh trolling on social media, as well as death threats.
The Editors Guild of India calls on the MeitY to roll back the blocking order and ensure that it is never guided by any arbitrariness when dealing with free speech and expression.
Sincerely,
Anant Nath, President
Ruben Banerjee, General Secretary
K Ve Prasad, Treasurer
