A Delhi court has ruled that the temporary block on the Telegram messaging app in India is lawful, Reuters reports
The Delhi High Court dismissed Telegram’s lawsuit and ruled that the Indian government’s actions to temporarily block the messaging app within the country from June 16 to 22—due to a massive leak of exam papers for medical school admissions—were lawful.
Judge Tejas Karia affirmed the government’s right to restrict access to the platform to protect national security and the integrity of the exams, despite claims by human rights advocates that this sets a precedent for restricting freedom of speech.
The restrictions targeted this particular platform due to its high level of anonymity, the rapid restoration of blocked channels, and the presence of a message-editing feature that allowed fraudsters to upload test texts retroactively under the guise of an early leak.
The messenger’s founder, Pavel Durov, criticized the court’s decision, noting that it unjustly punishes more than 150 million ordinary Indian users, while illegal activity will simply shift to other communication platforms. During the hearing, the company’s lawyers emphasized that the platform had actively cooperated with law enforcement agencies and had independently removed more than 900 links containing illegal exam content; however, the court rejected these arguments. The official order from the Indian government, enforced by local internet service providers and the Apple and Google app stores, will remain in effect until the specified deadline.
This was reported by Reuters.
India’s Ministry of Education officially suspended the messaging app due to its widespread use by malicious actors to organize fraudulent schemes and deceive prospective students as they prepared for the national medical school entrance exam.
On June 17, Telegram filed a lawsuit challenging the Indian government’s decision to temporarily block the platform. The company is contesting the restrictions imposed by the authorities to combat exam fraud.
