NEW DELHI — Unable to prevent the leak of a single national entrance examination, the Centre has restricted a messaging platform used by roughly 150 million Indians, a step officials described as "temporary, event-specific, and the least restrictive measure available."

The restriction, in force until June 22 to cover the re-examination of an exam whose original sitting in May was scrapped after its question paper circulated freely, was upheld by the Delhi High Court as proportionate. During the hearing, the court asked how the rights of 150 million users could be curtailed because a section of citizens was appearing for an examination. The Attorney General replied that the platform was, by its architecture, a "Frankenstein," and that a platform unable to prevent misuse could not invoke proportionality — a standard the government did not extend to itself.

Officials clarified that blocking individual channels had been considered and found insufficient, and that disabling the application nationwide was therefore the measured response. The authorities responsible for the integrity of the examination, an official noted, could not also be expected to anticipate where its contents might travel.

A spokesperson confirmed the platform would be returned to 150 million phones once the examination concluded, at which point the underlying matter — the State's demonstrated inability to keep a single document confidential — would resume being addressed through the usual channels, namely a committee. He declined to name the next document to leak, citing the need to preserve an element of surprise.