NEW DELHI, June 17 (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Messaging platform Telegram has officially filed a petition in the Delhi High Court to challenge a government-mandated temporary block on its services across India. The legal challenge follows a government order issued on Tuesday that restricted access to the app until June 22 to prevent alleged exam fraud during the upcoming NEET-UG re-examination.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued the suspension order under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. This decision followed recommendations from the National Testing Agency, which argued that fraudulent groups were using the platform to circulate fake claims of paper leaks.
Authorities identified several channels using names like “PAPER LEAKED NEET” and “Private Mafia” to solicit payments from students. The agency stated that scammers frequently exploited the platform’s message-editing feature, which allows administrators to alter older posts while retaining the original timestamp. This tactic allowed bad actors to insert actual exam questions after the test had concluded, creating the appearance of a prior leak to extort money from families.
The temporary block has sparked significant backlash from users and digital rights advocates, including the Internet Freedom Foundation, which described the measure as a disproportionate response. The restriction also includes a secondary order requiring the platform to disable its message-editing function for previously posted content until June 30.
In a public statement regarding the situation, Telegram founder Pavel Durov expressed his opposition to the government’s strategy.
“Banning Telegram punished more than 150 million ordinary users in India rather than those responsible for leaking or circulating examination material,” Durov said.
The Delhi High Court has agreed to hear the company’s plea on an urgent basis. Meanwhile, the NEET-UG re-examination remains scheduled to proceed on June 21, as the government maintains that the platform-level restriction is a necessary, time-bound measure to protect the integrity of the national testing process.
