The Delhi High Court on June 19, 2026, dismissed a petition filed by the messaging platform Telegram, challenging the Indian government's decision to implement a temporary nationwide block. This restriction, which remains in effect until June 22, was imposed to prevent the potential circulation of leaked examination materials for the upcoming NEET 2026 re-examination, scheduled for June 21.
Court Sides with Government on Exam Integrity
Justice Tejas Karia pronounced the order, allowing the government's temporary restriction on Telegram to continue. The Centre had initiated the block based on recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Department of Higher Education, under the Ministry of Education. Authorities expressed significant concerns that Telegram could be exploited to disseminate question papers, answer keys, and other unauthorized content related to the critical medical entrance examination.
Telegram's Defense and Government's Concerns
During the court proceedings, Telegram argued that it had taken extensive measures to combat the spread of illicit NEET-related content. The company stated it had removed over 900 links and deployed advanced AI and machine learning tools to identify and take down such material proactively. However, the Centre raised fundamental concerns regarding Telegram's technical infrastructure, particularly its use of automated accounts and bots, which can distribute messages at a massive scale without continuous human oversight.
“Once a Bot is blocked, it can mirror channel, i.e. it is automatically redirected to another Bot,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court, highlighting the difficulty in controlling such automated dissemination.
Proportionality and User Impact
The court had previously questioned the proportionality of blocking access for Telegram's entire Indian user base, which numbers approximately 150 million, to safeguard an examination process. Justice Karia had asked the Centre to justify restricting the rights of so many users for an issue concerning a segment of the population. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov also publicly criticized the decision, asserting that the block unfairly punishes ordinary users instead of targeting the individuals responsible for leaking examination materials. Durov stated the action “punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India” and not the “insiders” who leaked the exam materials.