Delhi HC denies interim relief to Telegram against ban

Delhi High Court Rejects Telegram’s Request for Temporary Ban Suspension

Theindiapostdaily.com – On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court turned down Telegram’s request for immediate relief to halt the government’s temporary ban on the messaging app. The ban, which remains in place until 22 June, was imposed by the Centre under Section 69A of the IT Act. The court’s decision came ahead of the NEET-UG re-test scheduled for 21 June, as it considered Telegram’s urgent petition challenging the blocking order.

Arguments and Legal Proceedings

Justice Tejas Karia issued notice to the Union government, requesting a response to Telegram’s claims. The app’s legal team asserted that the government order lacked sufficient justification for the ban. In contrast, Tushar Mehta, the solicitor general representing the government, cited user IDs and specific information to support the decision, stating that Telegram had been warned to fix its systems but failed to act.

“They were repeatedly called and told that these are issues, and you correct your system. But they failed to do it,” Mehta argued.

Telegram emphasized that the ban negatively impacted its business and disrupted services for millions of users. Despite these concerns, the court opted not to pause the government’s action, leaving the block in place for now. The case will be revisited on Thursday.

Reasons for the Ban

The temporary measure was intended to curb the misuse of Telegram by groups accused of sharing leaked exam papers and misleading candidates. The NEET-UG exam, held on 3 May, saw over 2.28 million participants across more than 5,000 centers. Allegations of paper leaks sparked protests and investigations, leading to the cancellation of results and the rescheduling of the re-test.

Alongside blocking access, the government also ordered Telegram to disable message editing features within India until 30 June. Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, grants authorities the power to restrict online content to safeguard sovereignty, security, and public order.

Telegram’s Opposition

Telegram has strongly contested the ban, with founder Pavel Durov criticizing the move as disproportionate. In a statement on X, he highlighted that the restriction penalizes millions of innocent users while not addressing the real culprits behind the leaks. “The decision punishes over 150 million users in the country, not the insiders who leaked the exam materials. And the ban hasn’t stopped anything—the leaks just moved to other apps,” Durov said.

Meanwhile, the education ministry and Telegram have yet to respond to Mint’s emailed questions about the situation. The ongoing legal battle underscores tensions between digital communication and regulatory oversight in exam-related controversies.