Telegram moves Delhi HC against temporary India ban ahead of NEET-UG re-exam

Telegram, the popular instant messaging platform, has filed a legal challenge in the Delhi High Court against the Indian government's recent decision to temporarily suspend its services. This action comes just before the NEET-UG re-examination, which is set to take place on June 21. During a session before a vacation bench led by Justice Tejas Karia, Advocate Madhav Khosla urged the court for an expedited hearing, highlighting that the ban affects over 150 million Telegram users across India. The court agreed to address the matter promptly. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) implemented this service interruption under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, stating that the ban would remain in effect until June 22. The decision arises from concerns that Telegram was being exploited by organized cheating factions related to the NEET-UG controversy. Authorities indicated that various Telegram channels were allegedly utilized to disseminate leaked or counterfeit question papers, coordinate cheating efforts, and spread misinformation regarding the examination. Additionally, the government has mandated that Telegram disable its message-editing feature for messages posted prior to June 30, citing the potential for misuse in altering timestamps and modifying content retrospectively.