India has issued an order to dam Telegram until June 22 over concerns that fraudsters are using the messaging platform to focus on candidates ahead of a re-test of the country’s biggest entrance exam.
The move was announced on Tuesday by India’s National Testing Agency, which administers the National Eligibility Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET (UG)), a medical college entrance exam taken by hundreds of thousands of scholars every year. The Agency said the restrictions were aimed toward stopping cheating networks from using Telegram to sell fake exam papers and spread misinformation before the June 21 re-test of NEET.
The restrictions include a nationwide, temporary ban on Telegram until June 22, a day after the re-test. The Agency also wants the platform to disable its message-editing feature until June 30, arguing that the feature has been used to fabricate evidence of exam paper leaks after tests have been conducted.
“Each measures have been taken within the interest of public order, in response to the organized use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates appearing for the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination,” the agency said.
The order was issued under Section 69A of India’s Information Technology Act, the country’s legal mechanism for blocking online services and content, the agency said.
The move has drawn immediate criticism from digital rights advocates. Digital advocacy group Web Freedom Foundation said the restrictions were a “disproportionate” response to exam fraud, and questioned whether Section 69A permits the federal government to dam a whole platform slightly than specific content.
“Shutting down Telegram is a band-aid solution and a disproportionate answer to exam fraud,” the group said in a press release.
The re-test comes after NEET (UG) was rocked by a paper leak scandal last month, prompting a federal investigation and renewed scrutiny of the exam system. Indian authorities have since sought to tighten security around such national tests.
India is Telegram’s biggest market by downloads, making the temporary block one of the significant restrictions imposed on the messaging service.
That said, Telegram remained accessible in India on the time of publication, and its message-editing feature appeared to operate normally.
Telegram and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
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