Pioneer In Short

HC Seeks Govt Reply on Telegram Ban

The Delhi HC on Wednesday sought the Union Government’s response to Telegram’s challenge against the temporary restrictions on the messaging platform ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination on June 21. Hearing the matter, a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia issued notice to the Government and posted the case for Thursday. Telegram argued that the curbs were illegal and had affected more than 150 million users in India. Defending the Government’s action, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought time to place additional material on record, claiming the platform was being systematically misused. He told the court he would present “something shocking” at the next hearing, alleging that banned channels were being replaced by new ones and used to facilitate payments through QR codes.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, acting on recommendations of the National Testing Agency (NTA), has restricted access to Telegram in India until June 22 under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. A separate order requires Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. According to the NTA, the measures aim to prevent organised cheating rackets from spreading fabricated “paper leak” claims and defrauding candidates appearing for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination.