By NE NOW NEWS
Guwahati: The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to grant relief to Telegram and upheld the Centre’s decision to temporarily block the messaging platform ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21.
Justice Tejas Karia held that the government had followed due process and was empowered under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act to impose the temporary ban. The court observed that the Centre’s actions were proactive and constituted the least restrictive measure available.
“It cannot be held that the order is disproportionate or that there was no application of mind before taking the decision,” the court said, rejecting Telegram’s challenge.
The Centre had blocked Telegram in India for a week until June 22 following a request from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which cited the alleged organised use of the platform by cheating rackets targeting candidates appearing for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination.
During the hearing, the Union government argued that Telegram had evolved into the “new dark web”, contending that its architecture and privacy features had made it a preferred platform for cybercriminals, fraud networks, extremist groups and operators involved in examination paper leaks. The submissions relied on an assessment by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
Senior advocate Dhruv Mehta, appearing for Telegram, argued that the Centre had failed to justify invoking emergency powers and had not explained why specific content could not be blocked instead of disabling access to the entire platform.
“The order says it is in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India. An examination like NEET will affect the sovereignty and integrity of India? What is the application of mind?” Mehta told the court.
The Centre had defended the temporary suspension as a preventive measure aimed at curbing organised cheating and protecting the integrity of the NEET-UG re-examination.