The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected messaging platform Telegram’s appeal against the Indian government’s order temporarily blocking it ahead of the nationwide medical exam re-test.
In the judgment, Delhi High Court Justice Tejas Karia said the measures adopted by the government were proportionate and strictly followed the legal process.
The court’s decision means the messaging app will remain blocked until June 22.
Due to the ban on Telegram, the app is now offline and not available on the App Store. This has led to the most high-profile court dispute this year between a global tech giant and the Indian government.
Telegram in its court filing challenged the government’s account of the meetings, calling it “one-sided and inaccurate” and saying it “deliberately” omitted details of the company’s proactive processes.
Telegram said it has removed more than 900 links containing illegal exam-related content.
Why did the Indian government block Telegram?
India will on Sunday conduct the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) medical entrance exam, which students need to qualify to get admission in medical colleges across India.
The exam is being conducted already a month after the results were canceled due to question leak allegations.
The government blocked Telegram this week after India’s IT ministry blocked Telegram over concerns about channels claiming to have upcoming exam questions for sale on the app.
The government said even if the questions were fake, it would amount to fraud with the candidates.
Telegram has seen rapid growth in India, making the country its largest market in terms of downloads, although WhatsApp remains the dominant messaging platform.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
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