A court in New Delhi has rejected an appeal by Telegram against a temporary ban in India, dealing a setback to the messaging service as it challenges government action taken over alleged exam-related fraud.
The decision comes ahead of India’s national undergraduate medical entrance examination scheduled for June 21, which follows the cancellation of last month’s results amid allegations that exam questions had been leaked in advance, Reuters reports.
The Indian government imposed a temporary ban on Telegram until June 22, citing concerns that channels on the platform were allegedly advertising or distributing access to exam questions. Authorities argued that even if the materials were fake, they could still defraud candidates. The app was subsequently removed from major app stores and taken offline in India, with telecom operators and tech companies enforcing the order within hours.
In its ruling on June 19, Delhi High Court judge Tejas Karia said the government’s orders were “reasoned orders” and had followed due legal procedure.
Telegram, which has more than 150 million users in India—its largest market—has publicly criticised the ban. Its founder Pavel Durov said the move penalises users, while claiming that fraudulent exam content has simply moved to other platforms.
The case marks one of the most high-profile disputes this year between a global technology company and Indian authorities over content moderation and platform responsibility.
Prior to the court ruling, Indian officials reportedly engaged in private exchanges with Telegram, accusing the company of failing to proactively remove accounts promoting alleged leaked exam papers. Telegram responded that it had removed more than 900 links related to unlawful exam content and disputed the government’s account of the discussions, calling it “one-sided and inaccurate.”
By Sabina Mammadli
