NEET UG re-examination: MeitY restricts access to Telegram till June 22
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Tuesday restricted access to the instant messaging platform Telegram until June 22, 2026, to ensure the seamless conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test or NEET undergraduate examination in the country.
MeitY has issued the direction under Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, based on the recommendation of the National Testing Agency (NTA).
NTA is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education.
India ranks fifth globally for Telegram application downloads on the Google Play Store under the “Communication” category, according to Sensor Tower.
The IT ministry has further issued a direction that requires the Pavel Durov-headed platform to disable the editing feature for posted messages until June 30, 2026, to curb the misuse of the functionality to fabricate after-the-event “paper leak” evidence in respect of national examinations.
Presently, the feature allows a channel administrator to edit the content of a previously posted message, including the substitution of attached files such as PDFs, while the original send-time stamp is retained.
NTA said this capability has been used, in respect of multiple recent examinations, to fabricate after-the-event paper leak artefacts.
“Both measures have been taken in the interest of public order, in response to the organised use of the platform by cheating rackets to defraud candidates appearing for the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled on 21 June 2026,” said the NTA.
Terming the directions as a “last resort”, the testing organisation said that they have been taken only after intermediate measures, including the take-down action coordinated by Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), had been pursued but had not produced adequate response at the platform-level to protect candidates in the run-up to the examination.
Nearly 2.3 million candidates across India, and at examination centres in Doha, Dubai, Singapore and Kathmandu, appeared for NEET UG on May 3. However, amid allegations of a paper leak, the Centre said on May 12 that the examination had been cancelled, and a re-examination would be held later.
