NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday defended its decision to temporarily restrict access to Telegram, telling the Delhi high court that the messaging platform was being systematically misused by organised networks and that it would place “shocking” material before the court on Thursday.Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought a day’s adjournment, saying the government wanted to place additional facts on record.“If the court posts the matter tomorrow, then there is something shocking I can show. One channel starts, it is prohibited, and then another is started. And with a QR code, you can make a payment. This is continuous,” Mehta told a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia, according to news agency PTI.“This has not happened overnight. We have been dealing with complaints since May. I don’t wish to go beyond this. This platform is being misused, and imagine the situation which may arise,” he added.The high court issued notice to the Centre on Telegram’s petition challenging the restrictions and listed the matter for hearing on Thursday.Telegram argued that the government’s action was illegal and claimed that more than 150 million users had been affected since access to the platform was restricted on Tuesday.The Centre’s action follows directions issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, based on recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA).Under the order, access to Telegram has been temporarily restricted in India until June 22, covering the June 21 NEET-UG 2026 re-examination and its immediate aftermath.In a separate directive, Telegram has also been asked to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. According to the NTA, the feature had been exploited to create fabricated “after-the-event” evidence of question paper leaks in national examinations.The NTA said both measures were taken “in the interest of public order” to curb organised cheating rackets targeting candidates appearing for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination.
