The Delhi High Court upheld the Centre’s decision to temporarily ban Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examinations. Justice Tejas Karia held that the government’s measures were the least restrictive and could not be considered disproportionate to the objective sought.
The Delhi High Court on Friday upheld the Central government’s decision to temporarily ban the instant messaging app Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG undergraduate re-examinations.
Justice Tejas Karia delivered the verdict this morning.
The Court held,
“The government’s measures are least restrictive. It cannot be held that the order is disproportionate,”
Earlier, Yesterday, The Delhi High Court reserved its decision on Thursday on a petition by messaging platform Telegram, challenging the government’s temporary ban on the app ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21.
In its petition, Telegram challenged the legality of the ban, which has been in force until June 22.
MeitY also directed removal of the app from app stores, and both Google and Apple complied. Telegram later stopped functioning for existing users in India, though it remained accessible through the use of a VPN.
The NTA, which conducts the examination, has faced significant criticism from candidates and parents over its inability to prevent the question-paper leak.
Factual Backgrounds:
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued the restriction under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, acting on recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA) days before lakhs of medical aspirants appear for the re-test on June 21.
The ban is time-bound and limited in scope. Access will remain restricted until June 22, covering the day of the exam and the immediate period after it.
Separately, Telegram has also been instructed to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30, effectively shutting down a tool the NTA claims has been repeatedly misused to create fake “paper leak” evidence once the exams conclude.
The NTA termed the step calibrated and necessary.
The agency said,
“The directions have been issued 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,”
The government imposed the temporary ban after citing concerns that Telegram had been used by organised cheating networks linked to the NEET-UG controversy.
The ruling came after the original NEET exam was cancelled due to allegations of widespread paper leaks and other irregularities.
Last month, authorities cancelled the original NEET-UG exam after it emerged that the questions had leaked, and the re-scheduled exam was set for June 21.
The NTA described the platform-wide block as a measure of last resort. It said that removing channels one by one has structural limitations, as operators can simply start new channels. The agency and the Department of Higher Education, it noted, therefore pushed for graduated, platform-level compliance instead.
The restriction is intended to be narrow and confined to the exam window to minimise disruption. The NTA acknowledged that the block inconveniences lakhs of users who rely on Telegram for legitimate personal, professional and educational purposes, and said it regrets the inconvenience.
The NTA reiterated that the re-exam will be held as planned on June 21.
Candidates have been advised to ignore unverified claims, rely only on official NTA channels and the website (neet. nta. nic. in), and report any fraudulent approach to the cybercrime helpline at 1930.
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