Telegram has been restored on Google Play Store in India on Tuesday, June 23, bringing an end to a nearly ten-day government-imposed block that affected over 150 million users across the country. Apple's App Store was slower to follow, with the app still showing as unavailable on iOS as of Tuesday morning.
The ban was imposed following claims that some Telegram channels were used to distribute fake NEET 2026 question papers and other deceptive content in the run-up to the national medical entrance test. Government officials had engaged with Telegram representatives as early as June 3, expressing concern over the platform’s inability to stop the circulation of misleading exam-related material. When Telegram’s response failed to meet the government’s expectations, authorities instructed internet service providers and app stores to block access to Telegram and its related web services. The government also ordered the company to suspend its message-editing feature until June 30.
The re-NEET examination was successfully conducted on June 21 without reported fraud incidents. With the ban's stipulated period ending on June 22, the government did not announce any extension, and access was subsequently restored.
Durov Pushes Back
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was publicly critical of the decision throughout the ban period. He argued that the block punished over 150 million ordinary Indian users rather than the handful of insiders responsible for the original leak, and pointed out that the ban had failed to stop the circulation of leaked content, which simply shifted to other platforms.
Durov also made pointed allegations against Reliance Communications and WhatsApp, suggesting they may have lobbied for the ban, and claimed a network manipulation technique known as BGP hijacking was used by an Indian telecom provider to disrupt Telegram's international traffic, affecting users in countries including the UAE. Reliance Jio denied the allegations, maintaining that its network operates within global routing standards.
The episode has reignited debate around platform accountability during sensitive national events and raises questions about how messaging apps with large user bases should be regulated when misused by a fraction of their user base.
