The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a plea by Telegram against the Centre's move to temporarily restrict access to the massaging app ahead of June 21 NEET-UG re-examination and said how can right of 150 million Telegram users can be curtailed just because set of citizens are taking up NEET-UG retest. A vacation bench headed by Justice Tejas Karia reserved the order after hearing arguments from senior advocate Dhruv Mehta, appearing for the app, and Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who represented the Centre.
HC asks both parties to submit written submissions
The judge asked both the parties to submit written submissions by 7 pm. The bench was hearing a plea of the messaging app against the Centre's decision. Earlier in the day, the Centre justified in the Delhi High Court the action to temporarily restrict access to the Telegram app ahead of June 21 NEET-UG re-examination, arguing that the messaging app offers bot infrastructure that could be used to disseminate information in bulk.
NTA cancelled NEET UG Exam on May 12
On May 12, the National Testing Agency (NTA) had cancelled the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, held on May 3 for medical admissions amid allegations of paper leak. The matter is currently under investigation by the CBI. A vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia is hearing the Telegram app's plea against the decision to restrict its access prior to the NEET-UG retest. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, stated that a single Telegram account can create up to 40 bots.
Telegram can offer bot infrastructure which can disseminate information in bulk
"Bots are machines; they can further multiply. As per the report, Telegram can offer bot infrastructure which can disseminate information in bulk. This feature is unique as it permits creation of sophisticated networks with minimal human oversight," the law officer said.
Justifying the decision, he said the government does not have this problem with other intermediaries. "This platform operates through the cloud. Even if they block it and someone does mischief, law enforcement agencies cannot reach the actual user," he said.
He also mentioned that the report indicated that Telegram is frequently used for terrorist activities and that law enforcement agencies face challenges due to this architectural design in various jurisdictions.
The high court on Wednesday asked the Centre to file its reply on Telegram's plea against its order temporarily restricting access to the messaging app ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG 2026 re-examination.
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