‘Telegram has become the new Dark Web’: Centre tells Delhi High Court, flags terror, cybercrime and NEET leaks

The Centre on Thursday informed the Delhi High Court that the Telegram messaging platform was being widely misused for a range of unlawful activities, including cybercrime, financial fraud, terrorism-related communication and circulation of leaked examination papers.

The submission was made through an affidavit filed by a scientist from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in response to Telegram’s petition challenging the government’s decision to temporarily restrict access to the platform ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21.