The Delhi High Court is set to resume hearing on Thursday, 19 June 2026 a writ petition filed by messaging platform Telegram challenging the Centre's decision to temporarily suspend its services across India ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled for 21 June. The matter — Telegram FZ LLC & Anr. vs Union of India & Ors. — is listed at 2:30 pm before the vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia.

What the Petition Argues

Telegram's writ petition contests restrictions imposed under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, pursuant to directions issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) following recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA). The platform contends the temporary suspension is disproportionate and has adversely affected millions of users across the country.

On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court sought the Centre's formal response and granted authorities liberty to place their reply and relevant documents on record before the next hearing.

Why the Government Acted

The Union government on Tuesday announced a temporary restriction on Telegram's operations in India until 22 June — covering the examination day and its immediate aftermath — as part of measures to counter alleged paper leaks, misinformation campaigns, and cheating networks. According to the NTA, channel-specific takedowns and earlier enforcement actions were found insufficient to address the scale of the problem.

Authorities also directed Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until 30 June. The NTA alleged the feature had been misused to fabricate evidence of question paper leaks by editing older messages and replacing attachments while retaining original timestamps — a tactic that reportedly misled students and investigators alike.

Channels Named, Payments Alleged

The agency further alleged that several Telegram channels operating under names such as 'Paper Leaked NEET', 'Re-NEET 2026', and 'Private Mafia' had been demanding payments from candidates in exchange for purported access to examination papers. The NTA said these operations represented organised fraud targeting vulnerable students ahead of a high-stakes retest.

Durov Pushes Back

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov criticised the suspension, stating it had affected more than 150 million users in India. In a post on X, Durov said Telegram had already removed hundreds of channels in recent weeks that were allegedly involved in sharing leaked examination materials and running scams targeting students. He framed the platform's actions as proactive cooperation, contrasting them with what he described as a blunt and sweeping government order.

Background: Why NEET Is Being Retested

The NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination is being conducted following allegations of question paper leaks during the original examination held on 3 May 2026. This comes amid a broader pattern of examination integrity controversies in India that have repeatedly drawn scrutiny to the NTA's processes. The Delhi High Court's ruling on Telegram's plea is expected to set a significant precedent on the limits of platform-level internet restrictions in the context of examination security.