The central government has temporarily restricted access to the Telegram messaging platform until June 22, a day after the Re-NEET UG 2026 examination, following recommendations by the National Testing Agency.
Here's all you need to know about the ban and how it will affect you:
Why Was Telegram Blocked?
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued two directions under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, on the NTA's recommendation.
The first restricts access to Telegram in India through June 22. The second requires the platform to disable its message-editing feature for already-posted content through June 30.
The NTA said the block was a "measure of last resort," taken only after channel-by-channel takedowns coordinated by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) failed to produce the required response at the platform level.
The Paper-Leak Fraud Racket
Channels operating openly on Telegram under names such as "PAPER LEAKED NEET," "Re-NEET 2026," and "REE NEET MAFIAA" demanded sums ranging from a few thousand to several lakhs of rupees from candidates in exchange for purported access to the re-examination paper.
The NTA said such material does not exist outside the secured examination chain and that every such promise was "in every instance, a fraud."
The Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime Branch separately arrested members of an inter-state cyber-fraud gang operating eight Telegram channels, with documented transactions of approximately Rs 1.5 crore routed through fraudulent bank accounts.
Why Was Editing Feature Targeted?
Telegram's message-editing feature allows channel administrators to modify previously posted messages, including replacing attached files such as PDFs, while retaining the original timestamp.
The NTA said this had been used in multiple recent examinations to fabricate after-the-fact paper leak "evidence," by inserting actual question papers into older messages after the exam concluded and circulating the altered chat as proof of a pre-exam leak.
ALSO READ: Telegram Blocked In India To Protect NEET-UG Re-Exam From Paper Leak — Check Key Dates
What Users Can, Cannot Do
Users cannot access Telegram in India until June 22.
Even after access is restored, the restriction on editing previously posted messages remains until June 30, meaning channel administrators cannot modify older posts or replace previously uploaded documents during this window.
However, sending new messages is unaffected. The NTA clarified that ordinary use of the platform for fresh communication is not impacted by the editing restriction.
ALSO READ: 'ReNEET Paper Leaked': NTA Rebuts X User's Claim, Says Don't Spread Fake Images
When Do Restrictions End?
The platform-access block ends June 22, 2026. The message-editing restriction remains until June 30, after which both are expected to be lifted unless further directions are issued.
The NTA expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to legitimate Telegram users and urged all candidates to rely exclusively on its official website neet.nta.nic.in for examination updates.
Fraudulent solicitations may be reported to the National Cyber-Crime Helpline at 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in.
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