Delhi HC Dismisses Telegram's Plea Over NEET Retest Ban
19 Jun 2026 12:44 PM IST19 Jun 2026 12:44 PM IST
Court upholds Centre's temporary restrictions on the messaging platform and message-editing feature ahead of the June 21 re-exam.
The Delhi High Court dismissed Telegram's challenge to the Centre's temporary ban linked to the NEET-UG re-test, holding the restrictions were lawful and proportionate.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday upheld the Centre’s decision to temporarily restrict access to the Telegram platform ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG re-examination, holding that the measure was “not disproportionate”.
Pronouncing the operative part of the order, a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia said the government’s action was justified given the emergency situation. “After considering all the arguments, we find that given the emergency nature, the reasons supplied are sufficient and the government has followed the procedure in Section 69A,” the court said.
Referring to Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the court held that the Centre was empowered to direct blocking of access to online platforms in the interest of public order and national security. It added that the test of proportionality had been met and the measures adopted were the least restrictive.
“Respondent 1 (Centre) was empowered under Section 69A to direct the blocking of access to Telegram. The test of proportionality is satisfied. The government's measures are the least restrictive. It cannot be held that the order is disproportionate,” the judge said.
The court rejected Telegram’s contention that reasons for the action were not supplied, observing that the government’s orders were “well-founded and supported by reasons” and did not suffer from non-application of mind.
Telegram had challenged the move alleging discriminatory treatment and violation of Article 14, stating it had removed over 900 links related to unlawful NEET content and deployed artificial intelligence and moderation tools. It said it had engaged with authorities since May and acted on specific URLs within an hour of receiving them.
During the hearing, the court had questioned the impact of the restriction on users. “How can we stop the rights of other users just because one set of citizens is appearing in the exam?” it observed.
The restriction was imposed after the National Testing Agency cancelled the NEET-UG exam held on May 3 amid allegations of a paper leak. The case is under investigation by the CBI, and the re-examination is scheduled for June 21.
The ministry of electronics and information technology had, on June 16, directed temporary restriction of Telegram access in India till June 22. A separate order also requires the platform to disable its message-editing feature for existing posts in India till June 30 to prevent misuse linked to alleged fabrication of “paper leak” evidence.
Referring to Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the court held that the Centre was empowered to direct blocking of access to online platforms in the interest of public order and national security. It added that the test of proportionality had been met and the measures adopted were the least restrictive.
“Respondent 1 (Centre) was empowered under Section 69A to direct the blocking of access to Telegram. The test of proportionality is satisfied. The government's measures are the least restrictive. It cannot be held that the order is disproportionate,” the judge said.
The court rejected Telegram’s contention that reasons for the action were not supplied, observing that the government’s orders were “well-founded and supported by reasons” and did not suffer from non-application of mind.
Telegram had challenged the move alleging discriminatory treatment and violation of Article 14, stating it had removed over 900 links related to unlawful NEET content and deployed artificial intelligence and moderation tools. It said it had engaged with authorities since May and acted on specific URLs within an hour of receiving them.
During the hearing, the court had questioned the impact of the restriction on users. “How can we stop the rights of other users just because one set of citizens is appearing in the exam?” it observed.
The restriction was imposed after the National Testing Agency cancelled the NEET-UG exam held on May 3 amid allegations of a paper leak. The case is under investigation by the CBI, and the re-examination is scheduled for June 21.
The ministry of electronics and information technology had, on June 16, directed temporary restriction of Telegram access in India till June 22. A separate order also requires the platform to disable its message-editing feature for existing posts in India till June 30 to prevent misuse linked to alleged fabrication of “paper leak” evidence.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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