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The Indian government has imposed a temporary restriction on Telegram ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination on June 21. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued the order under section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Telegram is now banned in India until June 22.
In a separate event, authorities have also ordered Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30, 2026. The restriction is imposed to limit the common practice adopted by the cheating networks: the fabrication of question paper leak evidence on the original timestamp.
Officials have clarified that the act is directed towards misuse of the edit message feature and is totally distinct from the actual paper leak investigation. This move comes ahead of the stringent measures in place put by the authorities to tighten the exam security just before the NEET re-test.
Telegram has become a center for fake news concerning the NEET Exam. The authorities said Telegram channels were used to run scams related to NEET (UG) 2026 Re-examination that included the circulation of fake access to exam papers. NTA has imposed this ban after the targeted takedowns of the individual channels led by the Indian Crime Coordination Center failed to deliver sufficient compliance at the platform level.
Authorities found that several Telegram accounts are editing old messages, adding the attachments of the real question papers, making it look like it was posted on the original timestamp, creating false evidence of a leak to entice students into circulating outdated news and following their accounts. The restrictions were imposed particularly to limit these fraudulent acts.
Multiple channels in Telegram were involved in this scam, advertised as ‘paper leaks’. Investigators reported that fraud of around Rs. 1.5 crore was committed through these alleged fake accounts. Certain accounts were successful in engaging with more than 1,000 mobile numbers as part of this paper leak scam.
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While the ban will end on 22 June, the day after the NEET (UG) re-examination, the restriction on the Telegram message-editing feature will be lifted on 30 June. The authorities are strenuously imposing these regulations to smoothly conduct this important all-India entrance exam. Legitimate Telegram users will be affected by the ban, but the government believes the measure is necessary to ensure the re-examination is conducted fairly.
