AIM condemns blocking of Anand Vikatan website

The Association of Indian Magazines (AIM) has strongly objected to the blocking of vikatan.com, the website of leading Tamil magazine publisher Ananda Vikatan, by the Ministry of Information and Technology (MeitY).

According to AIM, the action was taken following a complaint filed by Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) on February 15, 2025. The complaint was regarding a political cartoon published in Vikatan Plus.

The Association of Indian Magazines condemned this decision and said that the ministry blocked the entire website without any prior notice, hearing or formal order. Taking such a big action on the basis of only a political complaint is an attack on journalistic freedom.

According to a statement issued by Vikatan, officials of the Press Bureau of India visited the registered office of Vikatan on the same day and tried to find out whether Vikatan Plus is published in print or not. However, the publisher clarified that this magazine is a digital publication.

The association also highlighted that after blocking the website, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting sent a notice to convene a meeting of the Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) on February 17, 2025. This meeting was called to discuss the request to block the website under the IT Rules 2021. AIM says that first the blocking order was given and then the hearing was held, which is a blatant violation of the judicial process.

It is worth noting that the IT Rules 2021 have been challenged in several High Courts and the Supreme Court. Under this, the court has also stayed rules 9(1) and 9(3) related to the Code of Ethics. AIM raised the question that when the court has stayed these rules, why is such an investigation still being conducted.

The 'Association of Indian Magazines' has called this action a direct attack on media freedom and has demanded MeitY to immediately withdraw the order to block vikatan.com. It has also appealed to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting not to initiate any new investigation under the IT Rules 2021 as long as the court's stay is in force.

At the same time, Anant Nath, President of the Association of Indian Magazines, says, "This is a dictatorial step which weakens the freedom of the press. The government should immediately reverse this decision and protect freedom of expression."