The Madras High Court, on Thursday, March 6, passed a direction to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ordering it to lift the ban imposed on the Vikatan website. The website was blocked on February 15 over a cartoon depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his hands chained in front of US President Donald Trump. Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy also directed the magazine to take down the page containing the cartoon temporarily. The court observed that nothing in the cartoon impinged on the sovereignty of the country. Vikatan is one of Tamil Nadu’s oldest media houses and will turn 100 in 2026.
According to a LiveLaw report, senior advocate Vijay Narayan, who appeared on behalf of Vikatan, submitted that the cartoon “did not affect the sovereignty and integrity of the country or the country's friendly relations with the United States.” He had also contended that the Union government failed to provide details of the complainant.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) ARL Sundaresan argued that the cartoon would affect India's relations with the United States. He had also submitted that a committee appointed by the I&B Ministry had decided that the website would be unblocked if the cartoon was removed.
The court, after hearing both sides, said that the website shouldn’t be blocked until the issues are clarified and directed Vikatan to temporarily remove the cartoon and directed the Ministry to remove the block on the website.
The cartoon published on February 10, 2025,
under scrutiny showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi in shackles and chains, sitting with the president of the United States, Donald Trump. The cartoon was apparently a reference to illegal Indian immigrants being handcuffed and sent back to India and the PM not taking up the matter with Trump during their recent meetings.
Following the order, Vikatan immediately released a statement that the cartoon had been removed in compliance with the High court orders. “The caricature in the cover page of Vikatan Plus dated February 10, 2025 (Released on Feb 10, 2025) has been removed in compliance with the order of the Hon'ble Madras High Court dated 06-03-2025 in WP 7944 of 2025, subject to further adjudication. The issue involved for further consideration of the Hon'ble High Court, as recorded in order dated 06-03-2025, is whether the subject matter caricature is protected under right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, or would it fall under the permissible grounds of blocking under section 69A of the IT Act,” the statement read.