Delhi High Court Dismisses Telegram's Petition, Upholds Temporary Ban Over NEET Exam Misuse

The Delhi High Court has dismissed Telegram's petition challenging the temporary ban imposed by the central government due to the re-examination of NEET, giving no relief to the messaging platform. Justice Tejas Karia, while dismissing the petition challenging the order issued under Section 69A of the IT Act, upheld the government's decision to block Telegram till June 22. Allegedly, the Telegram platform was being used for paper leaks, circulation of fake question papers, fraudulent networks, and misinformation. In such a situation, on the recommendation of the National Testing Agency (NTA), the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had issued an order to restrict access to Telegram under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000. It has also been directed to keep the message editing feature closed till June 30. Telegram challenged this order in the Delhi High Court. The company said that more than 150 million Indian users are being affected and it is not necessary to put a full stop to the examination of NEET across the country from May 23, 2026.