Delhi HC seeks Centre’s reply on Telegram ban

The Delhi High Court has asked the Centre to respond to Telegram’s plea challenging the government’s temporary restriction of the messaging app ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. The Centre defended its action, citing misuse of the platform by cheating rackets.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to file its reply on Telegram’s plea against its order temporarily restricting access to the messaging app ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG 2026 re-examination.

As the matter came up before a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia, Telegram’s counsel claimed the curbs were illegal, but Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta defended the government action, saying the platform was being misused and he would reveal “something shocking” on Thursday.

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The court adjourned the hearing to Thursday and issued notice to the Centre.

During the hearing, Telegram’s counsel questioned the legality of the government order blocking the platform. He said that over 150 million users had been affected by the Centre’s action on Tuesday.
SG Mehta sought an adjournment, saying that he had not put several things on record.

“If the court posts the matter tomorrow, then there is something shocking I can show…One channel starts, it is prohibited, and then another is started. And with a QR code, you can make a payment. This is continuous,” he said.

“This has not happened overnight. We have been dealing with complaints since May. I don’t wish to go beyond this. This platform is being misused, and imagine the situation which may arise,” Mehta added.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), acting on recommendations of the National Testing Agency (NTA), issued a direction under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to the Telegram platform in India till June 22, covering the day of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination and its immediate aftermath.

A separate direction requires Telegram to disable in India the message-editing feature for already-posted messages till June 30, 2026, 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, according to an NTA statement.

“Both 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 (UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled on 21 June 2026,” the NTA said on Tuesday.