Telegram Challenges Indian Government's Ban Ahead of NEET (UG) 2026 Re-Examination

Telegram has filed a legal challenge against the Indian government's decision to suspend its services ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination. The suspension, aimed at preventing cheating and misinformation, affects over 150 million users in India. Telegram's CEO criticized the ban, stating it punishes legitimate users due to the actions of a few. The company has already removed numerous channels involved in sharing leaked exam materials. As the NEET re-examination approaches, the situation raises questions about the balance between security measures and user rights.

By Narendra Chaudhary Jun 17, 2026, 17:58 IST

Telegram Takes Legal Action Against Service Suspension

In a significant move, Telegram has approached the Delhi High Court to contest the Indian government's recent decision to suspend its services nationwide. This suspension comes just ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination, which is set for June 21.

The case was brought before Justice Tejas Karia, who agreed to schedule a hearing later that day.

Telegram's legal challenge targets the restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, following recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA).

On Tuesday, the Union government announced a temporary ban on Telegram's operations in India until June 22, covering the examination day and the immediate aftermath. This action aims to curb potential paper leaks, misinformation, and cheating networks linked to the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination.

The NTA indicated that the temporary ban was necessary after previous measures, such as takedowns of specific channels, proved inadequate in addressing the issue.

In addition to restricting access, authorities have instructed Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. The NTA noted that this feature had been exploited to fabricate evidence of question paper leaks by altering older messages while keeping the original timestamps.

Several Telegram channels, including those named "Paper Leaked NEET," "Re-NEET 2026," and "Private Mafia," have reportedly been soliciting payments from candidates for access to supposed examination papers.

Telegram's founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, criticized the temporary ban, stating it has impacted over 150 million users in India. In a post on social media platform X, he expressed concern that the IT ministry's decision penalizes millions of legitimate users due to the actions of a few.

Durov mentioned that Telegram had already taken down hundreds of channels involved in sharing leaked exam materials and scams targeting students in India.

He also stated that the company is enhancing the visibility of the "edited" label on messages to combat timestamp manipulation and backdating scams.

This suspension comes as Google and Apple have removed Telegram from their app stores in India, complying with the government's directive.

The NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination is being conducted following allegations of question paper leaks during the original exam held on May 3.