Telegram challenges Indian court order blocking app use

NEW DELHI: Telegram has moved the Delhi High Court against an Indian government order that temporarily restricted access to the messaging platform as authorities try to curb cheating linked to a major medical entrance examination.

The order took effect on Tuesday and was aimed at stopping channels that claimed to have access to examination papers in advance. The move came ahead of a fresh test for a nationwide medical college entrance exam after a controversy last month over an alleged paper leak.

Local media reports said lawyers representing Telegram mentioned the matter before a judge of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, and the court agreed to hear the company’s petition shortly. Telegram did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov publicly questioned whether the measure would succeed in preventing leaks. He said the ban was "not the insiders who leaked the exam materials" and described it as a punishment for Telegram’s 150 million Indian viewers. He also challenged the effectiveness of blocking the platform in stopping the circulation of leaked material.

Last month, the Indian government cancelled an important undergraduate medical entrance examination after authorities said they were looking into allegations that the paper had been leaked. The exam is taken by 2.3 million students, and the controversy triggered protests in different parts of India as well as calls for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign.

The restriction on Telegram was issued under a provision of India’s information technology law that allows the government to block access to internet applications in the interest of the country’s sovereignty and integrity. The decision has also prompted mixed views over the use of broad platform-wide bans to address exam-related fraud.