Messaging platform Telegram has approached the Delhi High Court challenging the Central Government’s decision to temporarily restrict access to the platform across India until June 22 in an effort to prevent exam-related fraud ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21.
The matter was mentioned before a vacation bench headed by Justice Tejas Karia, who agreed to hear the case urgently on Tuesday.
The government’s decision follows recommendations made by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education, which expressed concerns about organised cheating networks allegedly operating through Telegram channels.
Pavel Durov Criticises the Ban
Reacting to the government’s action, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov criticised the temporary restriction, arguing that it unfairly affects millions of ordinary users rather than those responsible for leaking examination material.
“The action punishes more than 150 million ordinary Telegram users in India, not the insiders who leaked the exam materials,” Durov wrote in a post on X.
He further claimed that the restriction had failed to stop the circulation of leaked content.
“The leaks just moved to other apps. Over the past few weeks, we removed hundreds of channels sharing leaked exam materials and related scams in India. Telegram is a force for good. Banning it — even temporarily — is a mistake,” he said.
Government Cites Public Order Concerns
In a statement issued on Monday, the NTA welcomed the directions issued against Telegram, saying they were necessary to protect the integrity of the NEET re-examination.
According to the agency, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) directed a temporary restriction on Telegram under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, until June 22.
Authorities also instructed Telegram to disable the message-editing feature in India for messages already posted until June 30. The government said this feature had allegedly been misused to fabricate false evidence of paper leaks after examinations had already taken place.
“The measures have been taken in the interest of public order in response to the organised use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates appearing for the NEET re-examination,” the NTA said.
NTA Flags Exam Leak Channels
The NTA alleged that several Telegram channels were openly operating under names such as “PAPER LEAKED NEET,” “Re-NEET 2026,” “Private Mafia,” and “REE NEET MAFIAA.”
According to the agency, these channels were demanding amounts ranging from a few thousand rupees to several lakh rupees from students and their families in exchange for purported access to examination papers.
The NTA stated that earlier attempts to curb such activities through channel-specific takedowns and coordinated action with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) had not been sufficient.
“The directions are a measure of last resort,” the agency said, adding that intermediate remedies had failed to address the problem at the platform level.
Government Calls Restrictions Limited and Temporary
The NTA maintained that the restrictions were narrowly tailored and limited to the examination period.
“The calibration of the directions — a narrow platform-access restriction confined to the examination window, together with a feature-specific compliance direction for the post-examination period — reflects an effort to address the public-order concern with the minimum restriction necessary,” the agency said.
The Delhi High Court is now expected to examine Telegram’s challenge to the temporary restriction as the NEET re-examination approaches.
