The Central government is expected to defend its decision to temporarily block messaging platform Telegram before the Delhi High Court, arguing that the company failed to adequately address several concerns raised by authorities despite repeated engagement over the past few weeks.
The legal dispute stems from the government's decision to temporarily restrict Telegram's operations in India ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21. Telegram has challenged the move, calling it arbitrary and disproportionate.
According to sources, the Centre plans to inform the court that concerns related to the platform had been under discussion since May and were not the result of a sudden development. The government is expected to argue that repeated warnings and communications with Telegram did not lead to satisfactory action on key issues.
Telegram, however, has maintained that it cooperated with Indian authorities throughout the process. The company argued that it attended meetings with government officials and took action whenever specific channels were identified for blocking.
Appearing for Telegram, senior advocate Dhruv Mehta submitted that the temporary restriction effectively amounted to a blanket ban impacting millions of users across India. He argued that the platform had acted on requests from authorities and questioned the proportionality of the government's action.
The Delhi High Court has issued notice on Telegram's plea and sought responses from the Centre and other parties. The matter is expected to be heard further after the government files its detailed response and supporting material.
The case is likely to focus on whether the temporary blocking order was justified under existing law and whether the government's concerns were adequately addressed by the platform before the restriction was imposed.
Sources: News 18
