After Temporary Ban Over NEET Paper Leak Ends, Google Restores Telegram; Founder Lashes Out at IT Ministry

VoM News Desk | June 23, 2026 | 01:38 PM IST | Breaking News, India, Social Media | Follow on Google News

After Temporary Ban Over NEET Paper Leak Ends, Google Restores Telegram; Founder Lashes Out at IT Ministry

New Delhi, June 23, 2026 [VoM News]: The Central Government lifted the ban on the Telegram application on Tuesday morning after authorities had imposed a temporary restriction on the messaging platform to prevent the spread of alleged leaked NEET examination papers. The ban expired at midnight on June 22.

Reports stated that the platform was accessible to some users even before it was restored on Google Play. However, the application reportedly remained delisted from Apple’s App Store until around 10:00 am.

Following concerns over the spread of fake examination papers, misinformation, and fraudulent activities that could impact the examination process, authorities had imposed a blanket ban on Telegram. Reports said that before imposing the restriction, authorities had flagged their concerns to Telegram representatives.

Some reports also stated that the messaging platform had been asked to disable its message-editing feature until June 30.

The blanket ban, however, did not go down well with Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who criticised the IT Ministry and described the move as a collective punishment for users.

Pavel Durov further alleged that competitors may have lobbied for the ban on Telegram in the country. He claimed that business interests linked to rival platforms may have influenced the decision.

As the NEET re-examination was conducted on June 22 without any reports of fraudulent activity, some users described the government’s move as excessive and questioned whether the restriction was an attempt to address concerns arising from the examination process.

VoM News Desk

VoM News is an online web portal in jammu Kashmir offers regional, National & global news.