India blocks Telegram before NEET retest over cheating fears

India ordered Telegram blocked nationwide until June 22 and told the app to disable message editing through June 30, escalating a fight over NEET exam security into a wider test of digital rights. The National Testing Agency said the restrictions were meant to stop cheating rackets from selling fake question papers, spreading misinformation and fabricating evidence of paper leaks before the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination on June 21.

The government issued the order under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, a legal route that gives New Delhi broad power to restrict online services. Officials called the ban a last resort after earlier attempts to remove content from the platform did not work, and said Telegram groups were advertising fake exam papers to candidates willing to pay for them.

The move followed the cancellation of the original NEET exam in May after alleged paper leaks, a decision that triggered protests across India and fresh demands for accountability, including calls for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign. Authorities said Telegram had been used to "defraud candidates" taking the national medical entrance examination, placing the messaging app at the center of a political and social backlash over exam integrity.

The decision also raised a larger question: whether Telegram was being punished for a specific enforcement failure, or whether governments are normalizing broad platform bans whenever cheating networks or misinformation spikes. Reports said the restrictions could affect hundreds of thousands of users, many of them far removed from the exam racket the state is trying to curb.

Access began tightening quickly after the order. At least one telecom operator had already blocked Telegram, and the app was reportedly removed from Google Play and Apple App Store in India. For students, families and other users who rely on Telegram for everyday communication, the immediate consequence was a sudden shutdown ordered in the name of fairness, with the precedent it set likely to outlast the June 21 retest.