Shut malls to stop theft: Telegram's throws shade over NEET leak-related ban

Telegram has sharply criticised the Centre's decision to temporarily block the messaging platform ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, comparing the move to shutting shopping malls because a theft might occur in one of them.

The remark came in response to Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram, who questioned whether blocking Telegram was the government's "master stroke" to prevent examination paper leaks. Telegram replied, "You should also shut down all the shopping malls since there might be a theft in one of them. And close the roads because I heard someone was speeding."

The exchange has since snowballed into a wider controversy, with Telegram moving the Delhi High Court against the restriction, opposition leaders attacking the government and the National Testing Agency defending the move as necessary to protect the integrity of the June 21 NEET re-examination.

TELEGRAM DOUBLES DOWN

The exchange did not end there.

As users challenged Telegram's comparison, arguing that malls do not allow thieves to operate openly and questioning why scam, leak and hate channels often remain active for long periods, the company returned with another pointed response.

"Try harder. Malls stop crimes when they are aware - so does Telegram. No matter how actively anyone polices, misuse happens," Telegram wrote.

The platform's remarks marked one of its strongest public defences yet against accusations that it has failed to adequately tackle channels involved in examination scams and paper leak claims.

DUROV SAYS BAN PUNISHES MILLIONS

In separate post Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov argued that the government's action unfairly targets ordinary users rather than those responsible for leaking or circulating examination material.

"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," Durov wrote on X.

"And the ban hasn't stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps."

Durov said Telegram had taken extensive action against channels involved in examination scams.

"We've done a lot to help fix the problem - even though its source is not Telegram," he wrote.

According to Durov, Telegram removed hundreds of channels sharing leaked examination material and related scams in India in recent weeks. He also said the platform had made its "edited" label more visible to prevent manipulation of timestamps and backdating scams.

"Telegram is a force for good. Banning it - even temporarily - is a mistake," he added.

TELEGRAM MOVES DELHI HIGH COURT

As the row escalated, Telegram approached the Delhi High Court challenging the government's decision to restrict access to the platform.

The company argued that the measure disproportionately affects millions of legitimate users who rely on Telegram for communication, education and business purposes.

The matter was mentioned before Justice Tejas Karia, who agreed to hear the plea later on Wednesday.

The challenge came a day after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology acted on recommendations from the National Testing Agency and ordered the temporary restriction.

OPPOSITION LEADERS JOIN IN

The government's move has also drawn criticism from opposition leaders.

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal accused the Centre of focusing on symbolic measures instead of tackling the networks responsible for paper leaks.

"The Modi government has no intention of stopping paper leaks. That's why such absurd steps are being taken - transporting papers by Army aircraft and shutting down Telegram. Will these steps stop paper leaks? Absolutely not," he said.

Karti Chidambaram's post continued to be widely shared as the controversy expanded beyond examination security into a debate over digital freedoms and government powers.

Digital rights advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation also criticised the restriction, calling it a "band-aid solution" to exam fraud.

WHY THE GOVERNMENT ACTED

The NTA has defended the move, saying the restriction is aimed at ensuring the integrity of the NEET re-examination and protecting students from fraudulent claims.

NTA Director General Abhishek Singh said authorities were dealing with a surge of fake messages claiming access to examination papers and misleading candidates and their families.

"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.

The agency has maintained that there is no fresh paper leak behind the decision and that the restriction is intended to curb misinformation and organised fraud.

The government has also directed Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. According to the NTA, the feature had been misused to fabricate paper leak claims by altering old messages while retaining their original timestamps.

FRAUD CHANNELS UNDER SCANNER

The NTA said several Telegram channels had been advertising purported access to the NEET re-examination paper and demanding payments from students and parents.

Authorities said these channels used names such as "PAPER LEAKED NEET", "Re-NEET 2026", "Private Mafia" and "REE NEET MAFIAA" to attract users.

The agency has insisted that no examination paper is available outside the official examination chain and described all such claims as fraudulent.

What began as a government effort to secure a high-stakes medical entrance examination has now evolved into a larger confrontation involving one of the world's biggest messaging platforms, opposition politicians, digital rights advocates and the courts, with the debate increasingly centred on whether blocking an entire platform is an effective way to tackle examination fraud.

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