Telegram Moves Delhi HC Against Temporary Ban Over NEET-UG Re-exam

A vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia issued notice to the Centre and posted the matter for hearing on Thursday.

Appearing for Telegram, counsel argued that the restrictions were illegal and had affected over 150 million users following the government’s action on Tuesday.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the move, stating that the platform was being misused and sought time to place additional material on record.

“If the court posts the matter tomorrow, then there is something shocking I can showOne 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, acting on recommendations of the National Testing Agency, had issued directions under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to Telegram in India till June 22, covering the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled on June 21.

A separate direction requires the platform to disable the message-editing feature for already-posted messages in India till June 30, 2026.

According to the NTA, the measures were taken to prevent misuse of the platform by organised cheating networks and to curb attempts to fabricate post-examination “paper leak” claims.