A vacation bench of the Delhi High Court led by Justice Tejas Karia continued hearing, on June 18, 2026, a plea by Telegram challenging the Centre's temporary ban on the platform ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21. The ban, imposed under Section 69A of the IT Act on the recommendation of the National Testing Agency, restricts Telegram's services in India till June 22 over alleged misuse by paper-leak and cheating rackets. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the restriction, citing channels like "Paper Leaked NEET" demanding payments from candidates, while Telegram argued the blanket ban was disproportionate and affected over 150 million Indian users. The court had earlier, on June 17, sought the Centre's response without granting interim relief to Telegram.
Polity
Delhi HC Continues Hearing on Telegram's Plea Against Centre's NEET-Linked Ban
Key Points
- A vacation bench of the Delhi High Court led by Justice Tejas Karia continued hearing, on June 18, 2026, a plea by Telegram challenging the Centre's temporary ban on the platform ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21
- The ban, imposed under Section 69A of the IT Act on the recommendation of the National Testing Agency, restricts Telegram's services in India till June 22 over alleged misuse by paper-leak and cheating rackets
- Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the restriction, citing channels like "Paper Leaked NEET" demanding payments from candidates, while Telegram argued the blanket ban was disproportionate and affected over 150 million Indian users
- The court had earlier, on June 17, sought the Centre's response without granting interim relief to Telegram
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📎 Read original source ↗Exam Note
• Case: Telegram FZ LLC & Anr. vs Union of India & Ors. • Ban imposed under Section 69A, IT Act, 2000, till 22 June 2026 • NEET-UG 2026 re-exam scheduled 21 June 2026; original exam held 3 May 2026
