High Court Asks Centre to Decide on NIA Probe into LPU Violence After Cyber-Terrorism Chargeਹਾਈ ਕੋਰਟ ਨੇ ਐਲਪੀਯੂ ਹਿੰਸਾ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਐਨਆਈਏ ਜਾਂਚ ਉੱਤੇ ਫ਼ੈਸਲੇ ਲਈ ਕੇਂਦਰ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਹਾ

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the Central government to decide within a week whether the National Investigation Agency should investigate the violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU), after police added a cyber-terrorism charge to the case. A bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor passed the direction on Wednesday, 4 November.

The court directed the Punjab government to forward a report to the Centre within 72 hours on the commission of a scheduled offence, under Section 6 of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008. The matter will next be heard on 17 November 2026.

Why the NIA question has arisen

The Punjab government told the court that the cyber-terrorism offence under Section 66F of the Information Technology Act, 2000, has been added to the case. Section 66F, which deals with cyber terrorism, is listed in the schedule to the NIA Act, making it a scheduled offence that can bring the case within the NIA's reach.

According to the state's second status report, material had prima facie emerged during the investigation indicating that Section 66F applied, and the provision was consequently added to the case.

How the violence began

The violence broke out on the night of 26 September, after an unverified post on Reddit began circulating among LPU students, alleging that a worker had raped a girl student on campus, that the university had sent her home, and that she had later died by suicide. Acting on the post and on WhatsApp messages, thousands of students gathered, blocked National Highway 44 between Phagwara and Jalandhar, torched three police vehicles and vandalised campus buildings.

The university and the police denied knowledge of any such incident, and the claim in the post was never verified. The court had already noted on 12 October that it expected the police to take cognizance of the larger implications of the incident, and asked why a non-existent event was shared on social media with an intent to create unrest.

A public interest litigation filed by LPU student Ravi Raj is seeking transfer of the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation under the High Court's supervision, along with action to establish the source of the social-media content. Police had arrested 11 people by early October, and the court was told that material damage of over Rs 30 crore was caused to public property.

What happens next

The Centre must now decide within a week whether the NIA takes over the investigation. If it declines, the case stays with the Punjab Police, whose Special Investigation Team continues to examine the origin of the rumour and the violence that followed. The High Court will review the position on 17 November.

What is Section 66F of the IT Act?

Section 66F of the Information Technology Act, 2000, deals with cyber terrorism, covering acts done with intent to threaten the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of India through computer resources.

Why is the NIA being considered for the LPU case?

Because Section 66F is a scheduled offence under the NIA Act, adding it to the case opens the door to an NIA investigation, and the High Court has asked the Centre to take a decision within a week.

When is the next hearing?

The matter will next be taken up by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 17 November 2026.