Phagwara / Chandigarh, Nov 5: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Punjab government to forward a report to the Central government within 72 hours so that the Centre can decide whether the National Investigation Agency (NIA) should investigate the violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara, after the cyber-terrorism offence was added to the case. A bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor passed the direction on Wednesday, November 4, and asked the Centre to take an appropriate decision within a week of receiving the report.

Source: LiveLaw

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by LPU student Ravi Raj, who has sought transfer of the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the High Court's supervision. The case is listed as CWP-PIL-279-2026 and will next be taken up on November 17, 2026.

Why the NIA question has arisen

The Punjab government told the court that the offence of cyber terrorism under Section 66F of the Information Technology Act, 2000, has been added to the case. According to the Punjab Police's second status report, material had prima facie emerged during the investigation indicating that Section 66F applied, and the provision was consequently added. Section 66F is listed in the Schedule to the NIA Act, 2008, making it a scheduled offence under Section 2(g) of that Act.

Senior Advocate Gaurav Chopra, appearing for the petitioner, pointed the court to Section 6 of the NIA Act, under which a report on a scheduled offence must go from the state government to the Central government. The court observed that the state's affidavit did not indicate that its authorities had taken note of the provisions of the NIA Act, and therefore directed that the report be forwarded within 72 hours.

What happens next

Once the Centre receives the report, it must decide whether the offence is a scheduled offence and whether, given its gravity and other factors, it is a fit case for an NIA investigation. If the Centre directs the NIA to investigate, the state government and its police officers must stop their investigation and hand over the relevant records to the agency. Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain appeared for the Union of India, Additional Advocate General Deepender Singh appeared for the State of Punjab, and Special Public Prosecutor Akashdeep Singh appeared for the CBI.

How the violence began

The violence broke out on the night of September 26, 2026, after an unverified post on Reddit began circulating among LPU students making serious allegations about an incident involving a student on campus. The allegation in that post was unverified, and no finding on it is reported in the court's order. Students later blocked National Highway 44 between Phagwara and Jalandhar, torched three police vehicles and vandalised campus buildings, according to earlier reporting of the unrest. On October 29, the High Court had separately directed the investigating agency to examine social-media posts containing incorrect reporting that triggered the unrest.

The High Court will review the position on November 17, when the authorities have been asked to place the developments in the case before it.