Govt temporarily blocks Telegram messaging app ahead of Neet-UG re-exam

The Union government has restricted access to messaging app Telegram till June 22 in order to prevent "cheating rackets" from defrauding candidates ahead of Neet (UG) 2026 re-examination on June 21.

The directions were issued under Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000, based on the recommendations of the National Testing Agency (NTA).

A separate direction requires Telegram to disable, in India, the message-editing feature for messages already posted till 30 June 2026. NTA said the feature had been used to fabricate after-the-event “paper leak” evidence in respect of national examinations.

Why Telegram faces curbs

NTA said the measures were taken in the interest of public order in response to the organised use of Telegram by cheating rackets to target candidates appearing for the Neet (UG) 2026 re-examination.

The agency described the directions as a "last resort" after intermediate remedies, including channel-level take-downs, had not produced the required platform-level response.

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been coordinating the operational response. NTA said I4C acted on inputs from the agency, State police forces including those of Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan, and its own monitoring of public channels and platforms.

How paper-leak claims were being fabricated

NTA said several Telegram channels, groups and bots had been taken down after they openly advertised fraudulent and misleading claims.

According to the agency, channels operating under names such as “PAPER LEAKED NEET”, “Re-NEET 2026”, “Private Mafia”, and “REE NEET MAFIAA” demanded sums ranging from a few thousand to several lakhs of rupees from candidates and their families for purported access to the re-examination paper.

NTA reiterated that there is no paper available outside the secured examination chain and that the promise of any such material is, in every instance, a fraud.

The agency said Telegram’s message-editing feature allowed a channel administrator to edit an old message, including by substituting attached files such as PDFs, while retaining the original send-time stamp. This could be used after an exam to insert the actual question paper into an older message and circulate the chat as purported evidence that the paper was available before the exam.