Telegram one of the most popular messaging apps has been banned temporarily by the Indian government. Ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination, scheduled for 21 June, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) invoked Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to implement the restriction, acting on formal recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA). The ban on platform access runs until 22 June 2026. A second order has also been issued, requiring Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until 30 June 2026. This measure targets a specific method that cheating rackets have used to fabricate fake paper leak evidence, separate from the question of whether any actual paper was leaked.
The NTA’s statement includes an unusually detailed explanation of how Telegram’s message-editing capability has been weaponised. The platform currently allows a channel administrator to edit the content of a previously posted message, including replacing attached files such as PDFs, while retaining the original send-time stamp of the post. Fraudsters have exploited this to create false “paper leak” artefacts: a channel posts an innocuous message before an exam, then edits it after the exam concludes to insert the actual question paper, making it appear as though the paper had been circulating in advance. The resulting screenshot is then shared as supposed evidence of a leak.
By requiring Telegram to disable this feature in India through 30 June, MeitY is closing this avenue of post-examination fabrication. The NTA states clearly that this direction does not affect the ordinary use of the platform for sending and receiving new messages.
The ban is described by NTA as a “measure of last resort,” taken only after channel-by-channel takedowns coordinated by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs failed to produce adequate compliance at the platform level. Over the preceding weeks, channels operating openly under names including “PAPER LEAKED NEET,” “Re-NEET 2026” and “Private Mafia” were demanding 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.
The Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime Branch arrested members of an inter-state fraud gang found to be running eight Telegram channels as part of the same scheme. Documented transactions linked to the operation amount to approximately Rs 1.5 crore, with around 1,000 mobile numbers contacted in a single month. Bihar Police also issued a formal public advisory on 9 June warning candidates against such solicitations.
The NTA reiterated that no examination paper is available outside the secured examination chain and that any offer of such material is fraudulent in every instance.
The NTA acknowledged that the access restriction affects a large number of Telegram users who rely on the platform for legitimate personal, educational and professional purposes, and expressed regret for the inconvenience. The platform access restriction expires on 22 June, the day after the examination. The message-editing restriction remains in place through 30 June.
Anyone who encounters fraudulent solicitations related to the examination can report them to the National Cyber-Crime Helpline at 1930 or through cybercrime.gov.in.