New Delhi: The Delhi high court Thursday (June 18) orally asked the Union government if the rights of 150 million users could be blocked just because one set of citizens are appearing in an exam.Justice Tejas Karia made the remarks while hearing the plea filed by Telegram challenging the Union government’s decision to temporary restrict access to it till June 22, in wake of the NEET 2026 re-test scheduled on June 21. The high court on Thursday reserved the verdict after hearing all parties, reported LiveLaw.“Can we stop rights of 150 million people just because one set of citizens are appearing in exams? Can you block someone else’s right to protect somebody else? Is your exercise of right in facts and circumstances proportional?” asked Justice Karia during the hearing.Justice Karia also orally asked Telegram if it had taken adequate steps like real-time monitoring, to prevent the alleged paper leak.“Whether your architecture is such that less restrictive measures will meet the requirement?” the Judge asked Telegram.Appearing for Telegram, senior advocate Dhruv Mehta submitted that at best, the Centre could seek removal of objectionable posts and not impose a ‘disproportionate’, blanket ban on the platform.The Union government, in an affidavit filed before the court, stated, “Telegram possesses certain technical and architectural features that distinguish it from other intermediaries and materially affect the ability of law enforcement agencies to prevent, detect and investigate unlawful activities on the platform…Telegram provides a dedicated Bot infrastructure, enabling the creation and deployment of automated accounts capable of functioning without continuous human intervention. These bots can automatically disseminate content, redirect users to channels, send bulk communications, collect information, and perform other actions at scale.”Solicitor general (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, said that design of Telegram app is different, which makes it difficult for law enforcement agencies to conduct probe.While Telegram submitted that the leaked paper was not real and misinformation was being spread about paper leak, the court orally remarked, “How do you know that? Problem is there is a paper.”SG Mehta also cited “anonymity enhancing” features of Telegram such as concealed phone numbers, virtual phone numbers, VPN services, etc. and said, “This feature significantly impedes the ability of law enforcement agencies to identify co-conspirators, trace communication chains, and establish attribution during the course of investigation.”At present the Union government has temporarily blocked the Telegram app ahead of the re-test of the NEET undergraduate examination scheduled on June 21 in a purported effort to curb paper leaks through the app.The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued notifications under Section 69 A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricting access to Telegram, the NTA has further announced.The Internet Freedom Foundation has called the shutting down of Telegram “a band aid solution” and a “disproportionate answer to exam fraud.”Following the ban, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov alleged that Reliance Group, in which Meta holds a partial stake, and WhatsApp may have lobbied to impose this ban.The NEET-UG test was cancelled last month after widespread allegations of paper leaks, sparking outrage and a protest movement which has been demanding the resignation of the education minister.