Centre Defends Telegram Ban In Delhi HC, Says App Failed To Curb Illegal Channels Ahead Of NEET Re-Test

The Centre on Thursday defended its decision to temporarily suspend access to Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG re-examination, telling the Delhi High Court that the messaging platform had failed to take proactive measures against illegal and suspicious channels despite repeated requests from the government.

Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said authorities had repeatedly asked Telegram to monitor and remove problematic channels but "nothing was done."

The hearing came a day after the High Court issued notice to the Centre on Telegram's petition challenging the temporary suspension of its services until June 22.

Government Cites 'Architectural Flaws'

Defending the restrictions, Mehta argued that Telegram's architecture posed unique challenges in preventing the spread of fraudulent examination material.

"The exam will be taken by over 22 lakh students and even their families are attached to them. If our assumptions turn true then there can be a law and order situation," he told the court.

Citing a report by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Mehta said a single Telegram account could create up to 40 bots, unlike other messaging platforms.

He also claimed Telegram's cloud-based infrastructure made it difficult to trace offenders and argued that the platform's design allowed large communities to migrate rapidly between channels.

"The entire population of a channel, around a lakh, can be moved to another channel in seconds. This is uniquely to Telegram and poses a serious risk," he submitted.

Mehta further told the court that several countries had previously taken action against Telegram over concerns relating to terrorism and other illegal activities.

Court Questions Blanket Restrictions

During the hearing, the High Court questioned whether the rights of millions of legitimate users could be curtailed because of misuse by a small section of users.

"Can you block someone else's rights to safeguard someone else's right?" the bench asked.

In response, Mehta argued that governments routinely impose temporary internet restrictions in areas facing law-and-order concerns even though only a small percentage of people may be involved in unlawful activities.

Attorney General R. Venkataramani also defended the government's decision, saying authorities had acted only after careful consideration.

"If our country cannot take preventive action, where will we go?" he said.

Centre Flags Message Editing Feature

The government also highlighted Telegram's message-editing feature as a major concern.

According to Mehta, the feature had previously been misused to fabricate evidence of examination paper leaks by allowing users to upload question papers after an exam and edit timestamps to make them appear as though they had been shared beforehand.

The Centre said the temporary restrictions were imposed under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act after concerns that organised cheating networks were using Telegram to circulate fake or leaked NEET-UG question papers and coordinate fraudulent activities.

Besides suspending access to the platform until June 22, the government has directed Telegram to disable editing of previously sent messages in India until June 30.