Delhi HC Upholds Telegram Ban as Proportional for NEET Integrity

Telegram temporary ban proportionate, valid measure to protect NEET integrity: Delhi HC (Ld)

New Delhi, June 19

Dismissing a petition filed by Telegram FZ LLC challenging the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's (MeitY) blocking order, a single-judge Bench of Justice Tejas Karia held that the temporary suspension of the messaging platform till June 22 and disabling of its message-editing feature till June 30 were justified in the circumstances surrounding the nationwide medical entrance examination.

"Given the emergency nature of the Impugned Order, the reasons supplied in arriving at the decision were sufficient. As Respondent No. 1 (Union government) has strictly followed the procedural steps as required under Section 69A of the IT Act, the challenge to the Impugned Order on the ground non-communication of reasons cannot be sustained," the Delhi High Court said.

On the issue of proportionality, Justice Karia said that the requirements laid down by the Supreme Court stood fulfilled.

"Applying the parameters laid down in Anuradha Bhasin (judgment), this Court is satisfied that the requirements of proportionality stand fulfilled, namely: (i) identification of a legitimate objective; (ii) existence of a rational nexus between the objective and the measure adopted; (iii) necessity of the measure in the facts and circumstances of the case; and (iv) adoption of the least restrictive measure available," the judge said.

The Delhi High Court added that the measures adopted by the government constituted "the least restrictive measure" available for achieving the stated objective and therefore could not be termed disproportionate.

Telegram had challenged the Centre's decision to temporarily suspend its services across India till June 22 and disable the message-editing feature till June 30. The restrictions were imposed under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act following recommendations made by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Rejecting Telegram's contention that only specific channels or accounts could have been targeted, the Delhi High Court found that the platform's architecture enabled rapid dissemination of content and made enforcement through channel-specific takedowns ineffective.

"It is noteworthy that Telegram permits the large-scale addition of users to channels and groups. The platform architecture of Telegram is conducive to amplification and mass dissemination of content, enabling information to reach a substantial number of users within a short span of time," the judgment said.

It further observed that Telegram's Cloud-based structure, extensive bot ecosystem and ability to create mirror channels allowed unlawful actors to quickly reconstitute networks even after enforcement action.

"Despite corrective measures having been sought in relation to various misuses of the Telegram platform, fresh material... disclosed the continued occurrence of illicit activities by unlawful entities notwithstanding prior interventions. Therefore, it is evident that narrower measures, including the takedown of specific bots and channels, were ineffective having regard to the particular nature and architecture of the Telegram platform," the Delhi High Court said.

It also rejected Telegram's argument that Section 69A empowered the government only to block specific content and not an entire platform. Holding that the term "information" under the IT Act has a broad meaning, Justice Karia said an application or platform falls within its ambit as it comprises "codes", "computer programmes" and "software".

"Accordingly, this Court is of the view that Respondent No. 1 was empowered under Section 69A of the IT Act to issue directions for blocking public access to Telegram," the judgment said.

The Union government had defended the move by contending that Telegram's architecture and repeated misuse for examination-related frauds left authorities with no effective alternative but to invoke emergency blocking powers.

According to the Centre, NTA had identified several Telegram channels allegedly involved in selling purported NEET question papers and examination-related scams. The government had argued that content-specific takedowns were ineffective because channels and bots could be recreated within minutes, making temporary platform-wide restrictions necessary ahead of the June 21 re-examination.

The NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination is scheduled to be held on June 21 for over 22 lakh candidates following allegations of question paper leaks in the original examination conducted on May 3.

— IANS