Most Indian media houses are cutting back on print magazines. Kolkata's Sanmarg Group is doing the opposite. The publisher of a prominent Hindi daily has bought all of Tehelka.com Private Limited, one of India's best-known names in investigative journalism. It plans to publish Tehelka more often, not less.

According to a company statement, Sanmarg Private Limited completed the 100 per cent acquisition in October this year. The deal includes all of Tehelka's print, digital and intellectual property assets held since 2017. It is Sanmarg's first move into magazines and adds to its digital presence. The group calls itself Eastern India's largest Hindi media network.

Sanmarg says it will invest further in the title. The fortnightly magazine will become a weekly, and both the print and digital editions will continue. Arvind Chaturvedi has been appointed chief editor.

A deal built to separate the brand from its past

The way the deal is structured may matter as much as the price. Sanmarg bought Tehelka from a group of investors who took over the company's entire shareholding in 2017. Those investors also gave an exit to founder Tarun Tejpal and other minor investors. The statement says there have been no fresh litigations since they took over. It also says Tejpal has no involvement in any capacity in Tehelka or its operations.

That point is central to the deal. Tejpal stepped aside as editor in 2013 after a colleague accused him of sexual assault. A Goa trial court acquitted him in 2021. In August 2026, the Bombay High Court's Goa bench set aside that acquittal, convicted Tejpal and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. He has since challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court.

The new owners have also kept the old legal cases away from the new company. The previous owner, Anant Media Pvt Ltd, will fight all previous litigations in which Tehelka was involved. It also has sole responsibility for earlier guarantees. For Sanmarg, this means it gets the Tehelka name without the company's legal history.

Why the move stands out

Going weekly is a bold bet. Readers are moving to short-form video and social feeds, and many magazines have reduced how often they publish or stopped printing altogether. A Hindi newspaper group taking over a national investigative magazine also suggests Sanmarg wants to reach readers beyond eastern India.

Sanmarg also says it will follow the rules, which signals caution about how the brand is relaunched. "We also want to fully comply with all government rules and regulations, and all applicable rules, standards and regulations as they stand today, to make a meaningful experience of serious journalism for the Indian public," the statement said.

Longtime readers have a reason to be reassured: Tehelka's lifetime subscribers will keep receiving copies and digital subscription access, as applicable.

What comes next

The real test will be the journalism. Tehelka built its reputation on investigations that challenged people in power. The question is whether a weekly run by a regional Hindi media group can bring back that edge or turns into a more cautious publication. Readers and the industry will judge from the first few issues under Chaturvedi.

(With inputs from IANS)