The Central government has imposed temporary restrictions on access to the messaging platform Telegram across India until June 22 in view of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled to be conducted on June 21.
As per a press release issued on Tuesday, the direction was issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) following recommendations made by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education.
Under the directions issued pursuant to Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, access to Telegram has been restricted in India for a limited period ending on June 22, covering the day of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination and the immediate period thereafter. In addition, Telegram has been directed to disable the message-editing feature for users in India until June 30.
NTA welcomed the decision, stating that the measures were intended to safeguard the integrity of the examination process and prevent organised cheating networks from exploiting the platform. Both measures were adopted in the interest of public order and to prevent candidates and their families from being deceived by organised rackets claiming to have access to the examination paper, it noted.
The agency pointed out that the feature had allegedly been misused by fraudsters to alter previously posted messages and falsely project them as evidence of examination paper leaks after the event.
Several Telegram channels operating under names such as Paper Leaked NEET, Re-NEET 2026, Private Mafia and REE NEET MAFIAA had been openly soliciting payments ranging from a few thousand rupees to several lakh rupees in exchange for purported access to the NEET-UG re-examination question paper, it revealed.
Reiterating that the examination paper remained within a secure and protected chain of custody, the NTA clarified that no such paper was available outside the authorised examination system and that any promise to provide access to it was fraudulent.
It further stated that the directions issued by MeitY were preceded by references made by the agency and the Department of Higher Education, which highlighted the limitations of taking action against individual channels and sought broader platform-level intervention. It said that the restrictions were adopted only after intermediate measures, including coordinated takedown efforts undertaken through the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), failed to generate the necessary response at the platform level.
According to the agency, the restrictions were narrowly tailored and time-bound. While access to the platform has been restricted only during the examination window, the separate direction regarding the message-editing feature has been extended until June 30 to address concerns relating to the fabrication of post-examination paper leak claims.
The move comes amid heightened scrutiny following the cancellation of the original NEET-UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3 due to allegations of a paper leak. More than 22 lakh candidates are expected to appear in the re-examination scheduled for June 21.
The NTA also noted that law enforcement agencies have recently taken action against alleged examination fraud networks. Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime reportedly dismantled an inter-state racket operating multiple Telegram channels through which approximately Rs 1.5 crore was routed using fake accounts, while nearly 1,000 mobile numbers were contacted within a month. The Economic Offences Unit of Bihar Police had also issued advisories cautioning candidates against falling prey to such fraudulent claims.
While acknowledging that the temporary restriction may affect lakhs of legitimate Telegram users, the NTA expressed regret for the inconvenience and maintained that the measure was necessary to protect candidates and preserve the integrity of the examination process.
The agency further informed that more than 10 lakh candidates had downloaded their admit cards within approximately 24 hours of the facility being made available. It stated that its technical teams were continuously monitoring server loads and assured candidates that admit cards would be made available well in advance of the examination. NTA advised the candidates to ignore unverified content circulating online and report any instances of examination-related fraud to the designated cybercrime helpline.
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