New Delhi, 17 June

Telegram on Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court against a government order to temporarily restrict access to the messaging app ahead of the 21 June NEET-UG 2026 re-examination.

The matter was mentioned before a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia, who agreed to hear it on an urgent basis. The matter is likely to be heard shortly.

Telegram's counsel told the court that over 150 million users had been affected by the Centre's action on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), acting on recommendations of the National Testing Agency (NTA), has issued a direction under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to the Telegram platform in India for a defined and limited period ending 22 June 2026, covering the day of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination and its immediate aftermath.

A separate direction requires Telegram to disable in India the message-editing feature for already-posted messages for a defined period ending 30 June 2026, addressing the specific structural feature through which the platform has been used to fabricate after-the-event "paper leak" evidence in respect of national examinations, the NTA said in a statement.

"Both measures have been taken in the interest of public order, in response to the organised use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates appearing for the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled on 21 June 2026," the NTA said on Tuesday.