Telegram ban before NEET re-exam, furious CEO Pavel Durov said – 15 crore users are getting punished

By Samira Vishwas On Jun 17, 2026

Pavel Durov Statement On NEET Re-Exam: The temporary ban imposed on Telegram by the Government of India just before the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination has taken the form of a major controversy. On one hand, there is a move by the National Testing Agency, which has been made for the fairness of the examination, while on the other hand, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has openly criticized this decision.

For information, let us tell you that to stop cheating, rumors and fake information before the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination to be held on June 21, the Central Government on June 16 imposed a temporary ban on Telegram till June 22, 2026. This decision has been taken keeping in mind the sensitive time of the examination and its immediate aftermath.

Why did the government take such a big step?

Regarding the government’s action, NTA has said that in recent times, many misleading messages and fake claims related to the examination were becoming increasingly viral on Telegram. Due to which a situation like confusion and mental stress was being created among lakhs of candidates. In such a situation, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh said while talking to PTI, ‘We will not allow any kind of irregularities to happen. We will take all possible steps to ensure that the examination is conducted without any irregularities.” In his words, he also made it clear that this action has not been taken because of any new paper leak but is being taken to stop the spread of misinformation.

India’s IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions.
This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India — not the insiders who leaked the exam materials.
And the ban hasn’t stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps.
—Pavel Durov (@durov) June 16, 2026

Pavel Durov expressed his displeasure

Now it is being seen that after the government decision, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has shared his reaction with everyone on the social media platform X. Expressing his views, he wrote, ‘India’s IT Ministry banned Telegram for a week because some users had shared leaked exam questions. Due to this, more than 15 crore common users of Telegram in India are being punished and not those who leaked the exam material. And this ban didn’t stop anything. The leaks moved to other apps.” It is clear from his statement that shutting down the entire platform due to one mistake has become a cause of trouble for the other common users.

Also read: Big action by the government before RE-NEET, digital strike on Telegram, why this app is the first choice of paper leak mafia.

App also removed from Play Store

For your information, let us tell you that due to the government order, Google has removed Telegram from its Play Store. It is being said in the reports that Apple may also take a similar step soon. Now regarding the whole matter, experts say that this matter can now further intensify the debate about the balance between digital freedom and examination security. At present, everyone’s eyes are on the NEET-UG re-exam to be held on June 21.