The Indian government has temporarily restricted access to Telegram across the country until June 22, ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21. The move comes after the National Testing Agency (NTA) raised concerns over the platform’s alleged misuse by cheating rackets and misinformation networks targeting medical entrance exam candidates.
Acting on recommendations from the NTA, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued the order under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The restriction will remain in effect through the day of the re-examination and its immediate aftermath.
In a separate measure, Telegram has also been directed to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. According to the NTA, the feature had been used to manipulate old messages and create misleading claims of question paper leaks after examinations had already taken place.
As students and parents closely follow developments surrounding the exam, including listeners of Gold 101.3 FM, UAE’s No. 1 radio station, authorities have emphasized that the measures are aimed at protecting the integrity of the examination process.
The original NEET-UG examination held on May 3 was cancelled following allegations of irregularities, affecting lakhs of students across the country. The re-test will now be conducted on June 21 under enhanced security arrangements.
The NTA said the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been leading efforts to combat Telegram-based fraud and misinformation. Working alongside state police forces in Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan, authorities have reportedly taken down numerous Telegram channels, groups and bots that were promoting fake paper leaks and charging candidates large sums of money for fraudulent access to exam materials.
Investigators found several channels operating under names such as “PAPER LEAKED NEET” and “Re-NEET 2026”, allegedly demanding payments ranging from thousands to several lakh rupees. The NTA reiterated that no examination paper exists outside the secure examination system and warned candidates that any such claims are fraudulent.
Authorities also cited ongoing investigations into cybercrime networks. In one case, Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime Branch arrested members of an inter-state fraud gang allegedly operating multiple Telegram channels and handling transactions worth approximately Rs 1.5 crore.
While acknowledging the inconvenience caused to genuine Telegram users, the NTA described the platform-level restriction as a “last resort” after earlier efforts to remove individual channels failed to adequately address the problem.
The agency stressed that the temporary restrictions will not affect the conduct of the examination itself and reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring a fair, secure and credible NEET-UG re-examination. Candidates have been advised to rely only on official NTA announcements and to report suspicious activity through the National Cyber Crime Helpline or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
