NEET 2026 re-exam row: Telegram moves Delhi HC against temporary ban in India
New Delhi: Telegram has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the centre's decision to temporarily ban its services in India until June 22, a move taken ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination to curb the spread of alleged paper leak scams and misinformation. The matter was mentioned urgently before a vacation bench, which agreed to hear the plea later in the day.
Telegram has argued that the restriction has impacted more than 150 million users across the country.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that Ahead of the NEET UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21, Telegram has been temporarily banned in India in the wake of cheating rackets duping aspirants.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) welcomed the central government's decision to impose temporary restrictions on the Telegram platform.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) directed that access to Telegram be restricted in India until June 22, covering the examination day and its immediate aftermath. In addition, Telegram has been instructed to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30, addressing the specific structural feature through which the platform has been used to fabricate after-the-event “paper leak” evidence in respect of national examinations.
The measures have been taken in response to several Telegram channels that were allegedly being used by cheating rackets to spread false claims about leaked NEET question papers and to defraud students and their families.
The Centre imposed the temporary block following a request from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which claimed that organised cheating networks were using the platform to circulate fake claims about leaked question papers and defraud NEET aspirants. While Telegram founder Pavel Durov said the platform had already removed hundreds of suspicious channels and termed the restriction disproportionate, the NTA has maintained that the measure is necessary to ensure a fair and secure conduct of the June 21 re-examination.
According to recent ANI report, the Instant messaging platform Telegram has approached the Delhi High Court, challenging the Central government's decision to temporarily block its operations in India until June 22 in connection with the upcoming NEET-UG 2026 re-examination.
The matter was mentioned on an urgent basis before a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia by Advocate Madhav Khosla. The Court agreed to hear the plea later in the day.
According to lawyers appearing in the case, the temporary restriction has affected more than 150 million Telegram users across India.
The Centre had ordered the blocking of Telegram following a request from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which alleged that the platform was being used by organised cheating rackets to mislead and defraud candidates appearing for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled on June 21.
Following the government's direction, telecom operators reportedly began restricting access to Telegram, while the application's listing was removed from major app stores. The government has described the move as a temporary and targeted measure aimed at preventing the circulation of leaked examination material and related scams ahead of the re-test.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov criticised the blocking order, stating that the platform had already removed hundreds of channels allegedly involved in sharing leaked examination content and scams. He said the ban affects millions of ordinary users and argued that illegal activities could shift to other platforms.
The NTA, however, maintained that the decision was necessary to ensure a fair and secure examination process. It also said the restriction is limited in duration and would be lifted after the re-examination.
The Delhi High Court is expected to examine the legality and proportionality of the government's decision, as well as its impact on users and digital communication services.
