India temporarily blocks Telegram following leaks of medical exam questions

The Indian government has temporarily blocked Telegram in the country until June 22. The decision was first reported by Reuters.

Access to the platform was restricted following a major leak of medical exam questions. Last month, a national testing session had to be cancelled after it emerged that the questions had been circulated online ahead of time.

The cancellation triggered widespread student protests across the country, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of the education minister. A retake of the exam has now been scheduled for June 21.

The Ministry of Education said Telegram was being used in a coordinated way by criminal groups, who were helping candidates cheat their way through the upcoming retake.

The block was issued under India's IT Act, which allows the government to take such measures in the interest of national sovereignty. Digital rights activists have criticized the move as a threat to freedom of expression, while the government maintains that public interest is being strictly protected.

Officials described the restriction as a last-resort measure, taken because the offending content could not be removed any other way, while also expressing regret over the inconvenience caused to the hundreds of thousands of users affected. India remains Telegram's largest market by number of downloads.

Telegram has not yet commented publicly on the situation. As of the morning of June 16, the app was still accessible in the country, and major telecom providers have so far declined to comment on the block order.