India has blocked the messaging app Telegram across the country, citing a catastrophic breach of exam security that sources describe as a ‘national security incident’. The ban, confirmed by the Ministry of Home Affairs late tonight, follows the leak of question papers for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) on multiple Telegram channels.
Investigators have traced the leak to a sprawling network of ‘study groups’ on the platform, where organisers sold access to the stolen papers for sums ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 rupees. At least 200,000 students are believed to have been affected. ‘This is not just an exam leak. This is an organised criminal enterprise that has compromised the integrity of India’s competitive education system,’ said a senior intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The ban was enacted under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, which permits the government to block public access to any intermediary in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India. Telecom providers received the order at 11 pm, and access to Telegram’s servers was cut within two hours. Telegram’s parent company, Telegram FZ-LLC, has not yet publicly responded to the ban.
Documents obtained by this outlet reveal that the leak originated from a group called ‘JEE Masters 2025’ which had been operating since March. Membership required an invitation and a fee paid via cryptocurrency. The stolen question papers were then posted in private ‘answer key’ channels minutes after the exam began. One insider claimed that the operation had been running for months, with previous papers being sold for up to 1.2 lakh rupees.
The scale of the breach has alarmed intelligence agencies, who warn that Telegram’s end-to-end encryption and anonymous registration make it a haven for illegal activities. ‘Telegram has become the dark web of social media,’ a cyber security expert said. ‘It is virtually impossible to track these groups without breaking the encryption, which the company refuses to do.’ This is not the first time the app has come under scrutiny. In 2023, the National Investigation Agency flagged Telegram as a tool used by terrorist organisations for recruitment and propaganda.
Meanwhile, students across the country are in a state of panic. ‘I studied for two years for this exam, and now it has been cancelled. My life is on hold,’ said Rohan Sharma, an aspirant from Delhi. The Ministry of Education has announced that the affected exams will be retaken within three weeks, but the logistical nightmare is immense. Over 2 million students registered for the JEE this year.
The ban has drawn sharp criticism from digital rights activists. ‘This is a knee-jerk reaction that ignores the root cause: the criminal syndicates behind the leaks. The government should be prosecuting the criminals, not punishing 400 million Telegram users,’ said Aparna Gupta, director of the Internet Freedom Foundation. ‘Telegram is the only secure messaging app many journalists and activists rely on.’
Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, has previously stated that the company would not comply with government requests to break encryption. This stance has made it a target for governments worldwide. Last year, Brazil briefly blocked Telegram after it failed to respond to court orders.
As the investigation unfolds, sources in the intelligence community suggest that the operation may have links to organised crime networks operating from Southeast Asia. ‘This is bigger than an exam paper leak. This is a test of whether India can control its digital borders,’ said a source. For now, the ban remains in place, and millions of Indians are left without one of their primary communication tools.
