The Madras High Court, on Thursday, March 6, ordered the Union government to lift the ban imposed on Vikatan, a Tamil-language weekly magazine, whose website was blocked after it posted a cartoon showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi in chains with the United States President Donald Trump sitting besides him.
The cartoon was published on February 10 on Vikatan’s website and social media accounts soon after the Indian prime minister’s first visit to Trump after the latter became the President of the United States for the second time in January.
The cartoon seemingly alluded to Modi’s silence on the issue of US authorities handcuffing and deporting illegal immigrants back to India.
Advocate Vijay Narayan, who represented Vikatan, said, “The cartoon in question did not affect the sovereignty and integrity of the country or the country’s friendly relations with the United States.”
Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy, who presided over the bench, observed that nothing in the cartoon impinged on the sovereignty of the country.
However, representing the Union government, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) ARL Sundaresan argued that such cartoons could invariably affect India’s relations with the United States. He further said that the Ministry of Information and Broadcast would unblock Vikatan website if the cartoon was removed.
The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil news website to withdraw the page containing the cartoon temporarily.
Vikatan’s statement after Madras HC order
Following the Madras High Court’s order to lift the ban, Vikatan released a statement that the cartoon had been removed.
“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.
Vikatan is one of Tamil Nadu’s oldest media houses and will turn 100 in 2026.
