Challenge to ban on Telegram before NEET UG, Delhi HC sends notice to Centre, hearing on June 18

The central government has decided to impose a temporary ban on Telegram before the NEET UG exam (NEET UG 2026). The company has challenged this decision in the Delhi High Court. An important hearing took place in the court on Wednesday on the petition filed by Telegram. The company has demanded an interim stay on the ban. Now the court has sought answers from both the parties.

Notice has also been issued to the Central Government. The government will file its reply by Thursday. The next hearing regarding this matter will be on June 18 at 2:30 pm. Telegram says that the temporary ban imposed on it is not fair and it will affect millions of users.

The court has objected to the interim relief. The court said that if interim relief is given at this stage, it would amount to staying the entire order. On behalf of the Central Government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that “the interim relief petition will be considered equivalent to being accepted at the initial stage itself.”

What did the telegram say?

Telegram’s lawyer said during the hearing that NTA’s complaint is mentioned in the government order. As per the rules, the officer appointed on the basis of the complaint investigates the case and its material. Only then comes to a conclusion and then makes a recommendation. But the appointed officer says that no action was taken to block any channel or group. The lawyer said, “The government blocked the entire platform instead of managing only specific information. Only the objectionable content should be blocked and not the entire app” Tushar Mehta said, “This decision has not been taken overnight. The government has some shocking facts, which will be placed before the court.”

Ban on Telegram till June 22

Keeping in mind the transparency and security of NEET UG re-examination, the Central Government has decided to temporarily ban Telegram till June 22. The order related to this has been made by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Instructions have also been given to enable the edit features of already posted messages in India till June 30. So that it cannot be used to create evidence of fake paper leak after the examination. On Tuesday, the Director General of the National Testing Agency had also advised students to be cautious about two scam rackets running on Telegram.