Indian Court Rejects Telegram’s Appeal Against App Ban

An Indian court has rejected an appeal by the Telegram messaging app against a temporary ban imposed by the Indian government.

The New Delhi High Court ruled on Friday after a closed-door hearing involving Telegram representatives and Indian officials. The government had blocked the app over allegations that some channels were being used to sell leaked questions for undergraduate medical entrance examinations.

India’s Ministry of Information Technology said the platform was being used to distribute exam materials illegally, adding that even fake leaked papers could mislead students.

The ban forced Telegram offline in India and removed the app from some app stores earlier in the week. India had earlier cancelled the results of the medical entrance test following claims that examination questions were leaked before the test.

Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, criticised the ban, saying it punished millions of users despite the company’s efforts to remove illegal content.

The company argued in court that the government’s claims were “one-sided and inaccurate” and said it had removed more than 900 links connected to unlawful exam-related content.

The judge, Tejas Karia, said the government’s decision followed legal procedures and that the orders banning the app were justified.

India is Telegram’s biggest market, with more than 150 million users. The case is among the major disputes this year between a global technology company and the Indian government.

Several countries, including China and Iran, have also restricted Telegram access, while the platform faces regulatory pressure in other regions over concerns about illegal content.

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