Instant messaging platform Telegram has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the Centre’s decision to suspend its services across India until June 22 and restrict certain platform features amid concerns over cheating and paper leaks linked to the NEET-UG re-examination.The matter was mentioned on Wednesday before a vacation Bench of Justice Tejas Karia by advocate Madhav Khosla, appearing for Telegram.Taking note of the urgency raised by the platform, the Court agreed to hear the petition later in the day.Telegram has challenged directions issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which blocked access to the messaging platform across the country until June 22.A separate government order also directed Telegram to disable its message-editing feature for existing posts until June 30.Appearing before the Court, Khosla argued that the government’s action had affected more than 150 million users in India, many of whom rely on the platform for legitimate communication and business purposes.The Centre imposed the temporary restrictions following allegations that organised cheating syndicates had used Telegram channels during the NEET-UG controversy to circulate leaked and fake question papers, coordinate fraudulent activities, and manipulate message timelines. The move came after the cancellation of the original NEET-UG examination over claims of widespread irregularities and paper leaks.The government has maintained that the restrictions are essential to safeguard the integrity of the NEET-UG re-examination scheduled for June 21. Authorities have contended that Telegram’s features, particularly message editing, were allegedly being exploited to alter timestamps and lend credibility to leaked content circulated online.Telegram, however, has questioned the necessity and effectiveness of the blanket restrictions. Responding publicly to the government’s action, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said the ban was penalising ordinary users rather than those responsible for the leaks. In a post on X, Durov said the restrictions had impacted more than 150 million users in India while failing to curb the actual perpetrators.He claimed that the circulation of leaked material had merely shifted to other platforms after the ban. Durov further stated that Telegram had removed hundreds of channels involved in sharing leaked examination material and related scams in India over the past few weeks. He also said the platform was introducing measures to make the “edited” label more prominent in a bid to prevent backdating and timestamp manipulation.