Central Government on Tuesday imposed restrictions on access to messaging app Telegram in India till June 22, in view of conduct of NEET 2026 Re-Examination which is scheduled on June 21.

The move comes, following recommendations by the National Testing Agency and Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education.

National Testing Agency (NTA) in a press release issued today, welcomed the directions issued today in respect of Telegram. The directions include:

1. A direction under Section 69 A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to the Telegram platform in India for a defined and limited period ending 22 June 2026, covering the day of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination and its immediate aftermath; and

2. A direction requiring the platform to disable, in India, the message-editing feature in respect of messages already posted, for a defined period ending 30 June 2026, addressing the specific structural feature through which the platform has been used to fabricate after-the-event “paper leak” evidence in respect of national examinations.

NTA has said that 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.

NTA has said that there are channels operating openly on the Telegram platform under names such as - “PAPER LEAKED NEET”, “Re-NEET 2026”, “Private Mafia”, “REE NEET MAFIAA”, demanding sums ranging from a few thousand to several lakhs of rupees from candidates and their families, in exchange for purported access to the re-examination paper.

NTA reiterates that there is no such paper available outside the secured examination chain and the promise of any such material is a fraud.

It said:

"The directions issued today by MeitY have been made following references by NTA and the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, drawing attention to the structural limits of channel-by-channel action and seeking graduated platform-level compliance. The directions are a measure of last resort, taken only after intermediate remedies, including the take-down action coordinated by I4C, had been pursued and had not produced, at the platform level, the response required to protect candidates in the runup to the examination. The calibration of the directions - a narrow platform-access restriction confined to the examination window, together with a feature-specific compliance direction for the post-examination period - reflects an effort to address the public-order concern with the minimum restriction necessary".

Click Here To Read/Download NTA Press Release