New Delhi- The Editors Guild of India has issued a statement expressing deep shock over the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's (MeitY) blocking of Tamil magazine web portal Vikatan.com without due process. According to the Guild, the website was blocked for publishing a cartoon depicting the prime minister.

In its statement, the Guild emphasized that cartoons have historically been a legitimate means of journalistic expression. The organization described the sudden blocking as a "brazen instance of overreach by the authorities."

The Guild detailed that access to the entire web portal was blocked after a state head of a political party complained to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) about the cartoon. No prior notices were issued to Ananda Vikatan - the group behind the web portal - and they were not given opportunity for a fair hearing.

According to the statement, a notice was sent to the publishers only after the website was blocked, calling them for a hearing by an Inter-Departmental Committee constituted under the Information Technology Rules 2021. The Guild characterized this sequence as "after an order was arbitrarily implemented, due process was initiated."

The Guild also pointed out that there is an existing stay by the Bombay High Court on Rule 9(1) and (3) of the IT Rules 2021, which limits the powers of the Inter-Departmental Committee to examine complaints against publishers on grounds related to the Code of Ethics.

The statement described the episode as demonstrating "high-handedness" that works against "the cherished ideals of a free press." The Guild expressed concern that amid growing issues with media freedom in India, this blocking "does no good to India's democratic traditions that value fair play and transparency."

The Guild also noted that the cartoonist behind the work has been subjected to harsh trolling on social media and death threats.

The statement concluded with the Editors Guild of India calling on MeitY to roll back the blocking order and ensure that it refrains from arbitrary actions when dealing with free speech and expression.

The statement was signed by Anant Nath, President; Ruben Banerjee, General Secretary; and K Ve Prasad, Treasurer of the Editors Guild of India.