Telegram founder questions India’s decision to block platform over NEET concerns

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has criticized the Indian government's decision to temporarily block the messaging platform ahead of the NEET UG 2026 re-examination, arguing that the move penalizes millions of ordinary users while doing little to stop those responsible for exam-related fraud.

The Centre restricted access to Telegram on June 16 until June 22, covering the June 21 NEET UG re-examination and the immediate period afterward.

The action was taken following recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which said the restrictions were necessary to curb organized cheating networks and prevent the spread of fake messages linked to the examination.

Google has already removed Telegram from its Play Store in India, while Apple is expected to comply with the government order as well.

"India's IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions. This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India - not the insiders who leaked the exam materials. And the ban hasn't stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps," Durov wrote on X.

In a separate post, he said Telegram had already taken action against channels involved in exam-related scams and misinformation.

"Over the past few weeks, we removed hundreds of channels sharing leaked exam materials and related scams in India. We're also making the "edited" label more visible to prevent backdating scams. Telegram is a force for good. Banning it - even temporarily - is a mistake," Durov added.

Government officials, however, have defended the decision, saying it is aimed at preventing a repeat of the misinformation and alleged paper-leak claims that contributed to the cancellation of the original NEET UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued the direction under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

In addition to the temporary restriction, Telegram has been directed to disable its message-editing feature for already-posted messages in India until June 30.

According to the NTA, investigators found that certain Telegram channels were being used by cheating rackets to circulate purported question papers, communicate with intermediaries, and create misleading evidence of paper leaks.

The agency said channel administrators could edit older messages and replace attached PDF files while retaining the original timestamp, making it appear as though examination papers had been shared before the test.

Officials said this feature enabled the creation of fabricated proof of paper leaks after examinations had already taken place. Screenshots of such edited posts were then circulated online as evidence that question papers had been available in advance.

The agency emphasized that no genuine examination papers exist outside the secured examination process and warned candidates that offers of leaked papers are fraudulent.

Over recent weeks, several Telegram channels allegedly advertised access to purported NEET papers and demanded payments ranging from a few thousand rupees to several lakh rupees.

The NTA described the platform-level restriction as a measure of last resort after earlier efforts by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), working with state police forces in Bihar, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, resulted in the removal of numerous channels, groups, and bots.

NTA Director General Abhishek Singh said the action was not prompted by any newly discovered paper leak. Instead, authorities were responding to the circulation of fabricated messages and rumors that were creating anxiety among students.

"We will not let anything go wrong. We will take all possible actions to ensure that the examination is conducted without any malpractice," Singh said.

Defending the government's decision, Singh acknowledged that determined users could still access Telegram through virtual private networks (VPNs). However, he argued that restricting access would significantly reduce the reach of fraudulent networks.

“Even though they can continue operating channels using VPNs, if there is no clientele, the fraud will be prevented, and students will be protected from losing money and wasting their time dealing with fabricated question paper leaks.”

Singh said security agencies, including the I4C, state police forces, special task forces, and investigative agencies, have been monitoring such networks for an extended period.

He noted that channels frequently reappear under new names after being removed, making enforcement difficult.

Responding to criticism over the scale of security measures surrounding the re-examination, Singh said extraordinary steps were necessary because the exam had to be reorganized in just 37 days, compared with the typical preparation period of five to six months.

He said question paper preparation, proofreading, translation into 13 languages, printing of 22 lakh papers, and nationwide transportation had all been compressed into a much shorter timeline.

Support from the Ministry of Defence and the Indian Air Force, he added, helped reduce transportation timelines from 15 to 20 days to just three or four days.

“We are not there to just issue warnings and threats, but to also act when it is needed in the interest of our young students,” he said.

The NTA said multiple additional security layers have been introduced across every stage of the examination process, including paper creation, translation, printing, storage, and transportation.

According to Singh, the agency has coordinated with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Posts, paramilitary forces, state governments, police departments, and local administrations to safeguard the examination across 5,440 centers in India and 14 centers overseas.

Among those supporting the restrictions is IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti, who has repeatedly raised concerns about Telegram's editing functionality.

“There is a vulnerability in the Telegram platform, wherein you can send a message today and edit the message tomorrow or some other day later, without changing the timestamp,” Kamakoti said in a video message later shared by the NTA on X. “For people who look at the message later, it will appear as if you had sent the message at the original time.”

Kamakoti said the feature had previously been exploited to create confusion around competitive examinations, including JEE Advanced and the IISER Aptitude Test.

“Using this vulnerability, there has been an attempt in the past to create confusion and panic among candidates who appeared for multiple competitive examinations,” he said.

In a separate demonstration, he showed how an attached PDF could allegedly be replaced while preserving the original timestamp.

“What we have demonstrated is that at 3:40 pm I am able to send a PDF that replaces something which was sent at 3:39 pm without altering the timestamp,” he said.

Describing the feature as “extremely dangerous,” Kamakoti warned that it could be misused to falsely suggest information had been shared before an event occurred.

“Telegram allows this type of modification for a long time, even 48 hours,” he said.

He urged students not to be influenced by claims circulating online.

“Candidates and friends, this is to tell you that you must be aware of such types of exploitations of vulnerability with an intention to create panic and confusion,” he said. Referring to examinations including NEET, he added, “Don’t believe in these things. Prepare well for the examination.”

The restrictions have also drawn criticism from digital rights advocates and technology experts. The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) described the measure as a "band-aid solution" and "disproportionate," arguing that a nationwide platform ban raises constitutional concerns.

Nisarga Adhikary, a cybersecurity researcher associated with IIT Kanpur's C3iHub, questioned the effectiveness of blocking the service.

"Can't stop paper leaks, ends up blocking Telegram. Blocking Telegram totally isn't even possible; Telegram is designed in such a way which easily allows people to use proxies and other methods of circumvention," he posted on X.

IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal offered a different perspective, saying the concern was not limited to the potential sharing of question papers but also involved the spread of fabricated leak claims.

"Telegram, as I write, has this special feature that allows editing of a post WITHOUT reflecting that edit has been done. This is dangerous. No other major social media channel has this," he said.

Student activist Sarthak Siddhant also questioned the rationale behind restricting access to an entire communication platform.

"Just because a COMMUNICATION MEDIUM has elements of misinformation, we have decided to shut it down," he wrote, asking why similar action was not taken against other platforms where misinformation can also circulate.

The temporary restrictions come days before the NEET UG 2026 re-examination as authorities intensify efforts to curb misinformation campaigns, combat fraudulent paper-leak claims, and restore confidence in one of the country's largest entrance examinations.