Published Jun 16, 2026 | 12:23 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 16, 2026 | 1:51 PM
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Synopsis: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a notification restricting access to messaging platform Telegram in India till 22 June, covering the day of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination. The NTA claimed that the current order follows a feature of the platform to edit the contents of a previous message while retaining the timestamp.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a notification under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to messaging platform Telegram in India till 22 June, covering the day of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination.
In a press release on Tuesday, 16 June, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said a direction has also been issued requiring the platform to disable the message-editing feature in respect of messages already posted, for a defined period ending 30 June.
According to the press release, the move is aimed at addressing the specific structural feature through which the platform has been used to fabricate after-the-event “paper leak” evidence in respect of national examinations.
On 12 May, the NTA had cancelled the NEET UG 2026 examination held on 3 May, confirming a question paper leak allegedly via Telegram groups. The reexamination has been scheduled for Sunday, 21 June.
Meanwhile, the Internet Freedom Foundation objected to the ban and added that it is, according to the Government’s own admission, constitutionally incompatible.
Also Read: NEET UG-2026 cancelled after paper leak row
The NTA said the section has been taken in response to the organised use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates appearing for the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled on 21 June 2026.
“NTA expresses its gratitude to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for this timely action, in the interest of students, which will go a long way in helping NTA to be able to conduct safe and secure examinations on 21st June 2026,” it said in the press release.
It said that, acting on inputs received continuously from NTA, from state law-enforcement agencies including the police forces of Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan, and from its own continuous monitoring of public channels and platforms and promptly took down substantial number of Telegram channels, groups and bots whose names and content openly advertised their fraudulent and misleading purpose.
“Over the preceding weeks, channels operating openly on the platform under names that themselves advertised their purpose “PAPER LEAKED NEET”, “Re-NEET 2026”, “Private Mafia”, “REE NEET MAFIAA” and similar formulations demanded sums ranging from a few thousand to several lakhs of rupees from candidates and their families, in exchange for purported access to the re-examination paper. NTA has placed on the record, and reiterates, that there is no such paper available outside the secured examination chain,” it said.
Also Read: NEET leakage — Are authorities endorsing systemic failure?
The NTA claimed that the current order follows a feature of the platform to edit the contents of a previous message while retaining the timestamp.
“The feature, in its present form, permits a channel administrator to edit the content of a previously posted message including the substitution of attached files such as PDFs while the original send-time stamp is retained. This capability has been used, in respect of multiple recent examinations, to fabricate after-the-event “paper leak” artefacts: a channel administrator edits an older, innocuous message to insert the actual question paper after the examination has been conducted, and the resulting chat is then circulated as purported “evidence” that the paper was in circulation before the examination,” it said.
NTA said the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination will be conducted as scheduled on 21 June 2026 and that the security of the examination is unaffected by the action taken.
“Every candidate and parent is reassured of NTA’s commitment to conducting a fair, secure and credible examination. Candidates are urged to focus on their preparation, to disregard unverified content circulating on any platform, and to rely exclusively on the NTA website (www.neet.nta.nic.in) and verified NTA handles for all examination-related updates,” it added.
The Internet Freedom Foundation said it is important to note that Section 69A and the Blocking Rules of 2009 framed under it allow the government to block access to specific “information” on a computer resource.
“They do not extend to switching off an entire intermediary, still less to ordering a company to redesign its product by removing a feature for a whole country. In Shreya Singhal v Union of India, the Supreme Court upheld Section 69A because it is narrow and hedged with procedural safeguards. Reading it to authorise shutting down a platform that lakhs use is an overbroad restriction by the NTAs own admission. For the message-editing direction, the release identifies no source of power at all. If one exists, the order must say so,” it said.
It said the block of Telegram is reactive and ineffective and will punish ordinary users instead of addressing the systemic source of exam leaks.
“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 paper leaks 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,” it added.
It asked the government to publish the MeitY Section 69A order and the NTA recommendation behind it, with reasons; state the legal basis for the message editing direction, or withdraw it; confirm whether Telegram was given a hearing under the Blocking Rules, and place the committee’s record before any court that hears a challenge; and lift the platform-wide restriction and rely on the targeted takedowns the NTA itself credits with containing the harm.
“We emphasise that the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination is worth protecting, and it concerns the future of lakhs of aspirants. It requires securing the entire process of examination rather than reaching for purported band-aid solutions that instead cause more harm,” it added.
