A temporary nationwide restriction on Telegram imposed ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination will remain in force after the Delhi High Court upheld the Centre’s decision, finding that the government acted within the framework of the law and adopted proportionate measures to address concerns over examination-related malpractice.
In a significant ruling linked to one of the country’s largest entrance examinations, Justice Tejas Karia dismissed Telegram’s challenge to the blocking order issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. The court held that the emergency circumstances cited by the government justified immediate intervention and that statutory safeguards had been followed.
The court said the reasons recorded by authorities were adequate in the context of the situation and found no procedural lapses in the decision-making process.
“After considering all the arguments, we find that given the emergency nature, the reasons supplied are sufficient and the government has followed the procedure under Section 69A,” the court observed.
The High Court also upheld the findings of the Review Committee, which had examined the blocking order after it was issued. According to the court, both the original order and the review decision reflected due consideration of the material placed before the authorities.
“The orders are well-founded and supported by reasons. The orders do not suffer from non-application of mind,” Justice Karia said.
Delhi HC rejects Telegram’s proportionality challenge
Telegram had argued that the government’s action amounted to a blanket restriction on a platform used by millions and failed the constitutional test of proportionality.
The company contended that alleged violations by a limited number of users could not justify restricting access to the entire platform. It also maintained that it had cooperated with law enforcement agencies and acted against channels and groups accused of unlawful activity.
Senior Advocate Dhruv Mehta, appearing for Telegram, submitted that less restrictive alternatives were available and that targeted action against specific channels would have been sufficient.
The High Court, however, accepted the Centre’s position that the restriction was narrowly tailored to address a specific threat linked to the conduct of the re-examination.
“The government’s measures are least restrictive. It cannot be held that the order is disproportionate,” the court said.
Justice Karia further noted that the requirements of proportionality had been satisfied, including the existence of a legitimate objective, a connection between the objective and the action taken, and the necessity of the measure adopted.
Court says platform can fall within scope of Section 69A
Another key issue before the court was Telegram’s argument that Section 69A permits the blocking of specific information and not an entire intermediary platform.
Rejecting that interpretation, the court held that nothing in the Information Technology Act excluded a platform from the scope of the expression “information”.
“We have also held that under the IT Act there is no reason to exclude the platform from the ambit of ‘information’,” the court observed.
Centre cites examination fraud concerns
Defending the action, the Union government told the court that Telegram had become a major channel for the circulation of leaked examination material and related scams linked to NEET.
The Centre said the restrictions were imposed following recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA) and after repeated attempts to address the issue through content-specific takedowns.
According to the government, several Telegram channels were allegedly involved in selling purported NEET question papers and running examination fraud networks. It said the channels, groups and bots under scrutiny collectively reached around 1.46 lakh accounts.
The government also relied on reports submitted by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), arguing that Telegram’s anonymity features, large subscriber channels, automated bots and cloud-based architecture created enforcement challenges.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the order was based on credible material indicating large-scale misuse of the platform and was necessary to protect the integrity of a nationwide examination involving lakhs of students.
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and Advocate Ashish Dixit appeared for the Centre during the proceedings.
Temporary restrictions remain in force
Telegram had challenged directions issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which temporarily suspended the platform’s services across India till June 22 and disabled its message-editing feature till June 30.
The Centre maintained that content-specific action was insufficient because channels and bots could be recreated quickly, making temporary platform-wide restrictions necessary ahead of the re-examination.
The NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination is scheduled for June 21 and will be conducted for more than 22 lakh candidates following allegations of question paper leaks in the original test held on May 3.
With the High Court declining to interfere, the Centre’s temporary blocking order will continue to remain in effect.