The Union government told independent news portal The Wire that its website had been blocked in India on May 9, citing "technical limitations" over a story on the Rafale jet deal.
Though The Wire’s site is accessible again, the outlet noted in a statement that readers in some regions across India still could not access it.
According to a press release by the news portal, the site was blocked in response to a complaint about a story related to Rafale jets, which had been published by The Wire on May 8.
In its official communication, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) stated that the government was compelled to block the entire domain due to technical limitations, claiming that individual sub-pages on an HTTPS site could not be selectively targeted.
The MIB had asked The Wire to take “appropriate action” on the story in question and notify the ministry, after which the site could be unblocked. Responding to this, The Wire removed the article from public view at 10:40 pm on May 9, stating that its “priority” was to restore access to its website.
“We had no option but to comply with this unfair demand while reserving our rights under the Constitution of India to seek appropriate remedies,” The Wire said in its statement.
Founder editor of The Wire Siddharth Varadarajan called the action an “unconstitutional attack on the freedom of the press,” and questioned the opaque process adopted by the government.
According to him, no prior notice was served, and there was a delay of over seven hours in responding to the outlet’s communication to the MIB and MEITY. “Even in the exercise of emergency powers, the first step is a direction to the concerned party under the relevant rules. The MIB omitted to even respond to our query for seven hours after we wrote to it,” he said.
Varadarajan also pointed out that the story had relied on information already in the public domain for over 12 hours, citing similar reporting by CNN which remained accessible in India.
“I fail to see why the government wants our story deleted and treated it as such a matter of emergency more than 24 hours after publication that no notice was even served to us and our entire website blocked,” he added.
The MIB’s response to The Wire also mentioned that the portal would be given a chance to present its “comments/clarifications” before an inter-departmental committee constituted under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Critics have questioned the move as a disproportionate reaction, especially in light of India’s democratic principles.
On the same day, foreign secretary Vikram Misri, at a press briefing, indirectly underscored the importance of such freedoms even in wartime.
Responding to remarks by the Pakistani military about Indian citizens criticising their own government, Misri said:
“The Pakistani army spokesman seems to take great joy at the fact that the Indian public should criticise the Government of India with regard to various issues. It may be a surprise to Pakistan to see citizens criticising their own government that is the hallmark of an open and functioning democracy. Pakistan's unfamiliarity with that again should not be surprising.”