News Desk - The Centre on Tuesday ordered a temporary restriction on access to messaging platform Telegram ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination, blocking the platform until June 22 as part of a broader effort to curb the spread of fake question papers, misinformation, and paper leak claims.

The temporary suspension of Telegram access, issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, is calibrated and bounded in time, ending on 22 June 2026 covering the day of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination and its immediate aftermath. The National Testing Agency (NTA) recommended the direction, citing concerns over the spread of misleading content related to exam integrity. The NEET UG 2026 re-examination will be held on June 21, 2026, after the original exam conducted on May 3 was cancelled following serious allegations of a paper leak.

Additionally, the government directed Telegram to disable its message editing feature in India until June 30, as the NTA stated the feature has been misused in the past to fabricate 'paper leak' evidence. The temporary suspension of message editing will not affect users' ability to send or receive new messages, according to the agency. The move comes amid heightened vigilance by authorities seeking to prevent cheating rackets from peddling fake question papers ahead of the critical medical entrance examination.

As the NEET-UG re-exam approaches on June 21, the Centre's decision to block Telegram access demonstrates the government's commitment to ensuring exam integrity and preventing paper leak incidents. The temporary restriction, set to end one day after the re-examination, aims to maintain fairness for thousands of aspiring medical students while authorities continue investigations into the original paper leak controversy.