Messaging platform Telegram has moved the Delhi High Court against the Union government’s decision to temporarily restrict access to the messaging platform ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, arguing that the measure is disproportionate and affects millions of users. The High Court, on Wednesday, June 17, agreed to hear the matter on an urgent basis.
The petition was mentioned before Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, who listed the matter for hearing later in the day.
Telegram founder and chief executive officer Pavel Durov, on Tuesday, June 16, criticised the Union government’s decision to temporarily restrict access to the messaging platform ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, saying the move has “punished” more than 150 million ordinary users in India while failing to stop the circulation of leaked examination material.
The temporary restriction, imposed until June 22, follows recommendations by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which said Telegram was being used by organised cheating networks and fraudsters to spread fake claims of question paper leaks ahead of the June 21 re-examination.
“India’s IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions. This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India — not the insiders who leaked the exam materials,” Durov said.
He further claimed that the restriction had failed to curb the problem. “And the ban hasn't stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps,” he said.
Durov also said Telegram had taken action against offending channels in recent weeks. “Over the past few weeks, we removed hundreds of channels sharing leaked exam materials and related scams in India. We're also making the ‘edited’ label more visible to prevent backdating scams. Telegram is a force for good. Banning it — even temporarily — is a mistake,” he said.
The Union’s decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of the medical entrance examination after the original NEET-UG test conducted on May 3 was cancelled following allegations of question paper leaks and other irregularities. The re-examination is scheduled to be held on June 21.
The NTA said the restrictions were intended to prevent fraud and misinformation campaigns targeting candidates. NTA Director General Abhishek Singh said some Telegram channels were demanding amounts ranging from Rs 14,000 to Rs 10 lakh from students by falsely claiming they could provide access to the re-examination paper.
“There is no leaked paper for the re-exam. The money is gone the moment you transfer it. Your admit card and WhatsApp number, if you sent them, become the tools they use to scam the next student,” Singh said.
The agency also raised concerns about Telegram’s message-editing feature, which it said could be used to create fabricated evidence of paper leaks. Administrators could edit old messages and replace attached files while retaining the original timestamp, making it appear that examination papers had been shared before the test.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) reportedly invoked Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, to direct the temporary restriction. Authorities have also sought disabling of Telegram’s message-editing feature in India until June 30.
Defending the move, Singh said, “We will not let anything go wrong. We will take all possible actions to ensure that the examination is conducted without any malpractice.”
The decision has, however, drawn criticism from digital rights advocates. The Internet Freedom Foundation described the ban as a “blunt” and “constitutionally incompatible” measure, calling it a “band aid solution” and “a disproportionate answer to exam fraud.”
In a separate development, Durov alleged that Reliance was interfering with Telegram’s internet connectivity outside India. He said that “Indian telecom Reliance is sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users OUTSIDE India (including the UAE) via a rogue method called BGP hijacking.”
“The sabotage seems intentional, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports,” Durov said, while also suggesting that the issue could be linked to competition with WhatsApp because of Meta’s investment in Reliance. He did not provide evidence for the allegation.
Reliance has not publicly responded to the claims at the time of publication.
Telegram has more than 150 million users in India, making the country one of the platform’s largest markets globally. The temporary restriction is expected to remain in place until after the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination process concludes.