New Delhi, Jun 19: The Delhi High Court on Friday upheld the Centre’s decision to temporarily restrict access to the Telegram messaging platform ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG re-examination, holding that the order was “not disproportionate”.
A vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia observed that the government’s directive was the “least restrictive” measure available and that authorities were empowered under law to order blocking of access to digital platforms in such circumstances. A detailed order is awaited.
Telegram’s counsel had challenged the legality of the Centre’s move, arguing that the restriction impacted over 150 million users. The platform contended that the order was excessive and unjustified.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) had on May 12 cancelled the NEET-UG exam conducted on May 3 amid allegations of a paper leak, with the matter now under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A re-test is scheduled for June 21.
Acting on NTA’s recommendations, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had issued directions on June 16 under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to Telegram in India till June 22. The order also covers the exam day and immediate aftermath.
In a separate directive, Telegram was asked to disable the message-editing feature for previously posted messages till June 30, 2026, aimed at preventing misuse of altered content in alleged examination-related fraud cases. (Agencies)
