GoKawiilIndia has banned Telegram until June 22 after the platform was used to sell access to leaked exam materials.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov accuses Indian telecom Reliance of using BGP hijacking to enforce the block, disrupting access for users as far away as the UAE.
Digital rights group, the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) calls the ban a disproportionate, "constitutionally incompatible" response to exam fraud.
The ban, and the BGP routing fallout
On June 16, India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology invoked Section 69A of the IT Act to restrict access to Telegram nationwide until June 22, acting on a recommendation from the National Testing Agency (NTA). A separate order requires Telegram to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30.
Telegram has since moved the Delhi High Court to challenge the ban, and the court agreed to hear the matter urgently today.
The disruption did not stay inside India's borders.
In an X post, Durov alleged that Indian telecom Reliance was "sabotaging" Telegram access for users outside India, including in the UAE, through BGP hijacking.
Durov accuses Indian telco of "sabotaging" Telegram via BGP hijacking (X)
He said the disruption looked deliberate because the reports had been ignored, framed it as possible competitive interference given Reliance's ties to Meta, and advised network operators to reject unauthorised BGP announcements from AS18101.
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