The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, 17 June 2026 issued notice to the Centre on a writ petition filed by messaging platform Telegram, challenging the government's decision to temporarily suspend its services across India ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled for 21 June. The vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia granted respondents liberty to file their reply with all relevant documents, posting the matter for further hearing on Thursday at 2:30 pm.

What the Court Ordered

The bench heard arguments from both Telegram's senior counsel and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta before issuing its directions. 'Respondents are at liberty to file their reply along with all the documents,' the court noted in its order. The case was taken up after Telegram sought an urgent mention before the vacation bench earlier in the day.

Why Telegram Was Suspended

The Union government on Tuesday, 16 June announced a temporary restriction on Telegram's operations in India until 22 June, covering the examination day and its immediate aftermath. The move was made under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, following directions issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on the recommendation of the National Testing Agency (NTA).

According to the NTA, the restriction became necessary after targeted measures — including channel-specific takedowns and enforcement actions — proved insufficient to contain the scale of alleged malpractice. Separately, authorities directed Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until 30 June, citing its alleged misuse to fabricate evidence of question paper leaks by editing older messages while retaining the original timestamp.

Channels Named, Payments Alleged

The NTA identified several Telegram channels — operating under names such as 'Paper Leaked NEET', 'Re-NEET 2026', and 'Private Mafia' — that allegedly demanded payments from candidates in exchange for purported access to examination papers. The agency said these networks had operated at a scale that individual channel removals could not adequately address.

Durov Pushes Back, Google and Apple Comply

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov criticised the suspension, stating in a post on X that the move had affected more than 150 million users in India. 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 added that the company was working to make the 'edited' label on messages more prominent to prevent content timestamp manipulation.

Meanwhile, Google and Apple removed Telegram from their respective app stores in India in compliance with the government's directive — a step that significantly limits new downloads even as existing users on Android may retain access through alternative means.

Background: Why the Re-Examination Is Happening

The NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination on 21 June was necessitated by allegations of question paper leaks during the original examination held on 3 May. This comes amid broader scrutiny of examination integrity in India, with the NEET controversy of the previous year still fresh in public memory. The suspension of a major communication platform ahead of a national examination is unprecedented in scale, and the Delhi HC's intervention adds a significant legal dimension to what is already a politically sensitive episode.

The next hearing on 18 June will be closely watched for whether the court grants any interim relief to Telegram before the examination day.