Delhi High Court backs temporary Telegram ban ahead of NEET
Telegram has been temporarily banned in India from June 16 to 22, just before the NEET exam, to stop leaked test materials from spreading.
The Delhi High Court backed the government's move, saying it was needed to protect exam integrity and was the least disruptive way to handle leaks.
Court says Telegram's 900+ takedowns insufficient
The government pointed out that Telegram's bots made it too easy for leaked content to go viral.
While Telegram said it had taken down more than 900 leak-related links and added AI tools, the court felt this was not enough.
CEO Pavel Durov criticized the ban for impacting over 150 million ordinary Telegram users in India and said it had failed to stop the circulation of leaked content.
He also accused Reliance of disrupting Telegram access for users outside the country through BGP hijacking (which Reliance denied).
For now, though, Telegram remains blocked until after NEET.