Telegram moves Delhi High Court against temporary government ban

Telegram has approached the Delhi High Court against the Centre's temporary restriction on the messaging platform ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. The company said more than 150 million users were affected by the order, which remains in force until June 22.

New Delhi: Telegram on Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court against a government order temporarily restricting access to the messaging app ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG 2026 re-examination.

The matter was mentioned before a vacation Bench of Justice Tejas Karia, who agreed to hear it on an urgent basis. The matter is likely to be heard shortly.

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Telegram’s counsel told the court that over 150 million users had been affected by the Centre’s action on Tuesday.

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

A separate direction requires Telegram to disable the message-editing feature in India for already posted messages for a defined period ending June 30, 2026, addressing the specific structural feature through which the platform has allegedly been used to fabricate after-the-event “paper leak” evidence in respect of national examinations, the NTA said in a 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 for June 21, 2026,” the NTA said on Tuesday.