NEET UG 2026: Telegram Challenges Government Ban Before Delhi HC; Platform Says 150 Million Users Affected

Instant messaging platform Telegram on June 17, 2026 approached the Delhi High Court challenging the Central government’s decision to ban its operations in India until June 22, 2026, ahead of the NEET UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21.

Advocate Madhav Khosla mentioned the matter before a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia, which agreed to hear the petition on an urgent basis on the same day. Khosla submitted that Telegram has over 150 million users in India who have been affected by the government’s ban.

Background

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a direction under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 restricting access to the Telegram platform in India until June 22, 2026. A separate order was also issued directing Telegram to disable, until June 30, 2026, the message-editing feature for messages already posted on the platform.

The government described the measures as necessary to protect the integrity of the NEET UG re-examination. Authorities contended that Telegram channels had been used to distribute leaked or fake question papers, coordinate fraud networks, and manipulate message timestamps through the platform’s editing feature.

The ban followed the cancellation of the original NEET UG 2026 examination held on May 3, 2026, after widespread allegations of paper leak and irregularities. A Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the paper leak has been ordered and the re-examination is scheduled for June 21, 2026.

Case Details

• Court: High Court of Delhi (Vacation Bench)
• Judge: Justice Tejas Karia
• Date of Mention: June 17, 2026
• Nature of Matter: Challenge by Telegram to the Central government’s direction under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 banning access to the platform in India until June 22, 2026 and restricting the message-editing feature until June 30, 2026, in the context of NEET UG 2026 paper leak concerns
• Outcome: Matter admitted for urgent hearing on June 17, 2026
• For Petitioner: Advocate Madhav Khosla