Delhi HC questions Telegram-wide ban:Govt calls it a new dark web, says criminals’ and terrorists’ favourite

The central government has claimed that Telegram is being used for cybercrime, exam paper leaks, child sexual abuse material, terrorism-related propaganda and financial fraud. In an affidavit submitted to the Delhi High Court, the Centre said Telegram’s privacy and anonymity features have made it a preferred platform for criminals. On Thursday, a bench headed by Justice Tejas Karia of the Delhi High Court was hearing a petition filed by Telegram challenging the temporary ban imposed on the platform. The Government of India has temporarily restricted Telegram channels ahead of the NEET re-exam scheduled for June 21. The restrictions will remain in place until June 22, 2026. Government made 5 claims in the affidavit Telegram claims it removed over 900 NEET-related links Telegram was represented in court by advocate Dhruv Mehta. He told the court that everyone is aware of what happened and that many students were affected. However, he questioned whether an entire platform should be blocked to prevent a single incident. Telegram said it removed the flagged content within an hour of receiving specific URLs from authorities on June 9. The platform also claimed that it had taken down more than 900 links related to illegal NEET content. It said it uses artificial intelligence, machine learning tools and manual moderation to identify violations of its rules. Exam held on May 3 was cancelled over paper leak allegations The NEET-UG exam was conducted across the country on May 3, 2026, with around 23 lakh students appearing for it. After the examination, allegations emerged from several states that question papers had been leaked and that some candidates had received access to the paper in advance. Following indications of irregularities during the investigation, the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the exam on May 12. After a review by the central government and investigating agencies, a decision was taken to conduct the examination again. NEET used for admission to more than one lakh medical seats NEET, or the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, is India’s national entrance examination for admission to medical and dental courses. It was introduced in 2013. The exam is used for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH courses (including BAMS and BHMS) and nursing programmes at government and private medical colleges across the country. This includes leading institutions such as All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research.