The Indian government temporarily suspended Telegram's services across the country on Tuesday ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21, citing the platform's alleged use by organised cheating networks to defraud medical entrance candidates. Telegram has challenged the ban before the Delhi High Court, calling it disproportionate.
Telegram approached the Delhi High Court on Tuesday, mentioning the matter on an urgent basis before a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia. The court agreed to hear the plea. Telegram's lawyers argued the suspension had affected more than 150 million users across India, the platform's largest market, the vast majority of whom have no connection to the alleged cheating networks.
Telegram Founder Pavel Durov's Response
Telegram founder Pavel Durov publicly opposed the ban, arguing it punished ordinary users rather than those responsible for leaking examination material. "The leaks just moved to other apps," he wrote on X. Durov said Telegram had proactively removed hundreds of channels sharing leaked exam content and related scams in India in the weeks preceding the ban, and was also making the "edited" label more visible to prevent backdating manipulation.
The Government's Order
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued the blocking directive under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, following a formal request from the National Testing Agency. The suspension runs until June 22, one day after the re-examination. Telecom operators have restricted access to the platform, and Telegram's listing has been removed from major app stores in India.
In addition to the access ban, authorities directed telegram to disable its message editing feature in India until June 30. The NTA said investigators believe the feature was previously misused to fabricate evidence of question paper leaks by backdating edited messages, making it appear that exam content had been circulated before papers were officially released.
The NEET-UG re-examination is being conducted after the original test, held on May 3, was cancelled over allegations of a question paper leak, the latest in a pattern of examination irregularities that has triggered nationwide student protests and renewed calls for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The NTA welcomed the government's blocking decision, calling it a necessary step to protect the integrity of the re-examination.