The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Centre how the rights of 150 million Telegram users can be curtailed for the NEET-UG re-examination.
The high court asked this while hearing Telegram’s plea challenging the Centre’s decision to temporarily ban the platform till June 22 in view of the NEET re-exam.
“How can we stop the rights of 150 million people just because one set of citizens are appearing in examinations?” a bench led by Justice Tejas Karia asked.
Acting on the National Testing Agency’s request, the Ministry of Electronics and IT blocked Telegram in India until June 22.
Additionally, the platform has also been ordered to restrict its backdated editing feature till June 30.
The NEET-UG 2026 re-examination is scheduled to be held on June 21 across the country.
The messaging platform’s founder and CEO Pavel Durov criticised the move, stating that more than 150 million Telegram users would be affected by it.
Later, Telegram moved the Delhi High Court, which sought the Centre’s response on the matter.
‘Telegram the new dark web, its privacy features being exploited for terror acts’: Centre
During the hearing, the Centre defended the move, saying Telegram’s privacy features have made it particularly attractive to criminal networks, flagging its backdated editing feature that could create unrest after the NEET exam.
According to the Centre, users can conceal identifiers such as phone numbers and Telegram IDs through privacy settings, making it difficult for investigators to establish the real identities behind accounts.
“Telegram can backdate question papers, students will be on the streets. They can post something today with editing and say that it (paper) was already available on June 19. That is where public order comes in,” the Centre submitted.
In its affidavit filed before the high court, the government said that Telegram has become the new dark web and due to its privacy features, the platform is being exploited for illegal activities including terrorism and child exploitation.
“It has been observed that Telegram is being exploited for illegal activities including drug trafficking, cybercrime, extremism, terrorism, child exploitation, and cyber scams and frauds, primarily due to its privacy features,” it said.