India has 'punished' over 150 mn users by banning Telegram: CEO Durov

Pavel Durov said banning Telegram would do little to curb the circulation of leaked content and would push such activity to other platforms

Telegram founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Pavel Durov has criticised the Indian government's decision to temporarily block the messaging platform across the country until June 22, ahead of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (Neet-UG) 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21.

 

In a post on X, Durov said the move punishes more than 150 million legitimate Telegram users in India rather than those responsible for leaking examination materials. He argued that the restriction would do little to curb the circulation of leaked content and would merely push such activity to other platforms.

 

"India's IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions. This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India, not the insiders who leaked the exam materials. And the ban hasn't stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps," Durov said. 

 

India’s IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions.  This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India — not the insiders who leaked the exam materials.  And the ban hasn't stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps. https://t.co/CzQWN4mXfb

— Pavel Durov (@durov) June 16, 2026

 

'Telegram acted against leak-related channels'

 

Durov said Telegram had removed hundreds of channels in recent weeks that were allegedly sharing leaked examination materials and running related scams in India. He added that the company is also working to make the "edited" label on messages more prominent in an effort to prevent backdating scams and the manipulation of content timestamps.

 

"Telegram is a force for good. Banning it, even temporarily, is a mistake," he said.

 

Why is Telegram temporarily blocked in India?

 

The comments come after the Indian government ordered a temporary suspension of Telegram services until June 22 as part of measures aimed at preventing malpractice during the June 21 Neet-UG 2026 re-examination. The test is being conducted again following allegations of question paper leaks during the original examination held on May 3.

 

The restriction was imposed following recommendations from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts Neet for admissions to undergraduate medical colleges across India.

 

Alongside the temporary suspension, authorities have directed Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. According to the NTA, investigators believe the feature was previously misused to create misleading evidence of question paper leaks by editing messages after examination papers had already been circulated.

 

Google has removed Telegram from the Play Store in compliance with the government's directive, while Apple has also delisted the app from its App Store. 

The government's decision has drawn criticism from digital policy experts and advocacy groups, who argue that restricting access to an entire platform affects millions of users who have no connection to examination-related misconduct.