Telegram challenges govt's block order in Delhi High Court amid Neet leak fears

Telegram has filed a petition before the Delhi High Court contesting the Centre's decision to temporarily block the messaging platform ahead of the Neet re-test, reports Live Law. The company has sought judicial intervention against the order, which was imposed in the run-up to the examination.

According to the report, the matter has been listed before the High Court and is expected to be taken up for hearing later today. Further details on the grounds of Telegram's challenge are awaited.

This comes just a few hours after CEO Pavel Durov took to X, criticising the Indian government's decision to suspend the platform for a week over allegations that leaked examination papers had been shared through the messaging app. Durov argued that the move unfairly affected millions of ordinary users while failing to tackle those responsible for the leaks.

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“India’s IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions. This punishes 150 million+ ordinary Telegram users in India, not the insiders who leaked the exam materials. And the ban hasn’t stopped anything. The leaks have just moved to other apps,” he said.

Why a temporary block on Telegram?

In the recent days, cities in India saw a wave of protests against the government after the Neet paper leak. The students of the country were on the street asking for justice with a question mark on their future. Over 2 million aspiring doctors were to sit for the entrance examination, when the authority cancelled the paper, claiming paper leak.

Now, in the move to curb another paper leak, India sought to temporarily block one of the messaging platforms, Telegram. But, the question is: why only Telegram and not WhatsApp? 

The National Testing Agency (NTA) alleged that several Telegram channels were being used by organised cheating networks to target anxious Neet aspirants and their families with false promises of leaked question papers. According to investigators, these groups charged anywhere from a few thousand rupees to several lakh rupees, claiming they could guarantee success in the re-examination.

The agency identified channels bearing names such as “PAPER LEAKED NEET”, “Re-NEET 2026” and “Private Mafia”, which allegedly misled students by advertising access to the exam papers. Authorities said Telegram has become a preferred platform for such fraudulent operations, with its design and features making it particularly attractive to scam networks involved in fake paper leak schemes.

When will India lift the block on Telegram?

Centre has temporarily blocked messaging platform Telegram across India until June 22. According to the NTA, the suspension is intended only for the duration of the examination period and the days immediately after it. Authorities said the measure is designed to prevent any attempts to circulate or manipulate sensitive content linked to the medical entrance test.

The temporary restriction comes as the government steps up efforts to ensure a fair and secure conduct of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination.

In addition to the temporary ban, the government has directed Telegram to switch off its message-editing functionality in India until June 30.

The NTA said the feature had previously been exploited to create false claims of question paper leaks. By editing existing messages and replacing files while keeping the original timestamp intact, administrators were allegedly able to make it appear that examination papers had been shared before the test.