Indian government bans Telegram until June 22 over NEET-UG re-examination concerns; Telegram challenges ban in court
The Indian government imposed a temporary ban on Telegram until June 22, citing concerns that the platform was being used by organised cheating networks in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. Telegram challenged the ban in the Delhi High Court, which agreed to hear the petition on the same day it was mentioned by advocate Madhav Khosla before Justice Tejas Karia. The ban was issued to
The Indian government imposed a temporary ban on Telegram until June 22, citing concerns that the platform was being used by organised cheating networks in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. The original NEET-UG 2026 examination was cancelled following allegations of large-scale irregularities and the circulation of leaked question papers, according to Financialexpress.com. The ban, issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, according to OutlookBusiness.com, requires Telegram to disable message editing to curb alleged paper-leak scams. Telegram has over 150 million users in India. Telegram challenged the ban in the Delhi High Court, citing concerns about NEET-UG re-examination and alleged misuse by cheating networks. Advocate Madhav Khosla mentioned the petition before a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia, and the court agreed to hear it on the same day. Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, called the ban a mistake and said it would punish millions of users. Durov alleged Reliance used BGP hijacking to sabotage Telegram access outside India and hinted at corporate competition with Meta, according to Newsdrum.in.
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