Government Blocks Telegram App Till June 22 Over NEET-UG Re-Test
New Delhi: The Union government has temporarily blocked the Telegram app ahead of the re-test of the NEET undergraduate examination scheduled on June 21 in a purported effort to curb paper leaks through the app, a press release by the National Testing Agency has announced.
The NEET-UG test was cancelled last month after widespread allegations of paper leaks, sparking outrage and a protest movement which has been demanding the resignation of the education minister.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued notifications under Section 69 A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to Telegram, the NTA has further announced.
The ban will end on June 22.
The Meity will also issue a direction requiring Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India till June 30. The NTA has said in its press release that this is the structural feature through which the platform "has been used to fabricate after-the-event “paper leak” evidence in respect of national examinations."
According to NTA, the action follows months of monitoring of Telegram channels allegedly being used by organised cheating and cyber fraud networks.
The agency said channels with names such as "PAPER LEAKED NEET", "Re-NEET 2026", "Private Mafia" and "REE NEET MAFIAA" have advertised access to the examination paper and demanded expensive payments.
The Internet Freedom Foundation has called the shutting down of Telegram "a band aid solution" and a "disproportionate answer to exam fraud."
Calling on the government to publish the Meity order with reasons, the IFF notes that order to is anti-student.
"This blocking comes in the final days of NEET preparation, when thousands of students depend on Telegram for study groups, doubt-clearing, and shared resources. Also, it is important to consider that the source of exam papers leak will occur from inside the system, among insiders and across the printing and logistics chain, with the platform being the most downstream channel for distribution. Hence, switching off Telegram, is merely a deflection from the repeated failures that will continue while media attention is directed towards this Telegram ban."
The IFF also noted that the order itself had not been published. Indeed it is only NTA's response that alerted journalists to the Telegram block.
"Anuradha Bhasin decision requires that orders restricting access be published so they can be tested in court. Here the order, and the reasoning of the committee behind it, stay out of view, and we do not know whether Telegram was heard at all. An announcement of a block is no substitute for an order the affected party can challenge.
Statement : Shutting down Telegram is a band aid solution and is a disproportionate answer to exam fraud
The Internet Freedom Foundation objects to the directions announced today in the National Testing Agency's press release on action against the Telegram platform. On the NTA's… pic.twitter.com/xlpzjcZEnC
— Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) June 16, 2026
The other measures implemented by the government to ensure a NEET exam without leaks have been garnering criticism. The defence ministry, for instance, has enlisted the Indian Air Force to transport the new question paper to 18 locations across the country.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has reportedly placed an unknown number of paper-setters under “lockdown” until after the date of the test for which they are preparing questions.
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