The Delhi High Court on Friday upheld the Centre’s decision to temporarily restrict access to the Telegram messaging platform ahead of the NEET-UG re-examination scheduled for June 21.

A vacation bench led by Justice Tejas Karia held that the government was empowered to direct the blocking of Telegram and observed that the measure was not disproportionate. The court said the restriction was the least restrictive option available. The detailed order is awaited.

Telegram had challenged the Centre’s June 16 directive, contending that the restriction was unlawful and affected more than 150 million users in India.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), acting on recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA), ordered the temporary restriction of Telegram services until June 22, covering the NEET-UG 2026 re-test and the immediate period thereafter.

The ministry also directed Telegram to disable the editing of existing messages in India until June 30. According to the government, the measure was aimed at preventing the platform’s misuse for creating alleged evidence of examination paper leaks after the examination.

The NTA cancelled the NEET-UG examination held on May 3 following allegations of a paper leak. The Central Bureau of Investigation is investigating the matter, and the re-examination is scheduled for June 21.

Inputs from PTI

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