Telegram ban update: The Centre has defended its decision to temporarily suspend Telegram’s services across India ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination, telling the Delhi High Court that the mess
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Telegram ban update: The Centre has defended its decision to temporarily suspend Telegram’s services across India ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination, telling the Delhi High Court that the messaging platform’s architecture and repeated misuse for examination-related frauds left the Union government with “no other option” but to invoke emergency blocking powers under the Information Technology Act.
In a short affidavit filed before the Delhi High Court in response to Telegram’s writ petition challenging the suspension, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said the decision was taken only after “exhausting alternatives” and resorting to less restrictive measures, including repeated requests for targeted takedowns of unlawful content.
“I state and submit that the impugned decision was taken after exhausting alternatives, which were less restrictive and included targeted takedown of unlawful content, but these would have been woefully inadequate,” the affidavit filed by Mayank, Scientist-E with the Government of India, MeitY, stated. The Centre argued that Telegram had become a key platform for the circulation of alleged NEET paper leaks, fake examination material, cyber frauds and other unlawful activities, posing a serious threat to public order and the integrity of the national examination system.
The NTA claimed that the identified channels, groups and bots had a combined reach of nearly 1.46 lakh accounts and were openly advertising purported access to examination papers in exchange for money. The affidavit said a meeting was held with Telegram officials on June 3, during which the platform acknowledged difficulties in proactively identifying channels involved in selling leaked papers and admitted that bad actors were misusing its “anonymity” features.
Why Modi govt banned Telegram?
The Union government imposed the temporary curbs ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination slated for June 21, citing concerns over alleged paper leaks, misinformation campaigns and cheating networks.
The NTA has maintained that channel-specific takedowns and enforcement actions were insufficient to tackle the scale of the problem. The re-examination is being conducted following allegations of question paper leaks during the original NEET (UG) 2026 examination held on May 3.
