On June 16, the Ministry for Electronics and Information Technology issued directions to block access to the communications application Telegram till June 22. The directions come five days before the NEET re-exam, which is scheduled for June 21, seeking to limit any further controversy over the much-fraught test. A press release issued by the National Testing Agency, the government authority charged with conducting national competitive exams like the NEET, indicated that there were several Telegram channels selling purportedly leaked copies of the re-exam. The NTA indicated that these were fraudulent, and the blocking orders were issued to safeguard students and families. The orders also required Telegram to disable its message-editing feature, so no one could insert a copy of the real exam in any group chats after the exam was over — ostensibly to mitigate any chaos that would ensue if claims relied on such posts stating that the papers had leaked once again.

Consequently, the government justifies blocking Telegram on the grounds of public order. The Indian Constitution only permits the restriction of communications or speech under the grounds explicitly listed in Article 19(2). Maintaining public order, which the Supreme Court defines as preventing a state of disorder that affects the community or public at large, is one of those grounds. It is often invoked to........

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