Delhi HC to deliver verdict on Telegram’s challenge to NEET-linked suspension

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court will on Friday pronounce its verdict on a petition by messaging platform Telegram challenging the Centre’s temporary suspension of its services across India ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re examination scheduled for June 21.

A single judge bench of Justice Tejas Karia reserved judgment on Thursday after hearing arguments from Telegram and the Union government. The court website shows the judgment is listed for 10:30 a.m. on Friday.

Telegram’s writ petition contests directions issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which led to the service suspension until June 22 and the disabling of the message editing feature until June 30. The company argues the measures are disproportionate and disrupt millions of users.

The Union government defended the restrictions, saying Telegram’s architecture and repeated misuse for examination related frauds left it with “no other option” but to invoke emergency blocking powers. In an affidavit, MeitY said the step followed the “exhaustion of alternatives”, including repeated requests for targeted takedowns that the government says were ineffective.

The Centre told the court that the National Testing Agency had flagged several Telegram channels, groups and bots allegedly involved in the sale of purported NEET question papers and related scams. The government said the identified accounts had a combined reach of about 1.46 lakh and were reportedly seeking payments from candidates for access to papers.

The government said its primary aim was to protect the integrity of the re examination, being held for over 22 lakh candidates after allegations of question paper leaks in the original NEET (UG) 2026 exam on May 3. Telegram had approached the court seeking urgent relief from the temporary restrictions.

(Inputs from IANS)