Chandigarh: Punjab and Haryana high court has directed Punjab govt to forward a report regarding the commission of a scheduled offence in the Lovely Professional University (LPU) violence case to central govt within 72 hours, after state police added Section 66F of Information Technology Act, 2000 (punishment for cyber terrorism) to the case.A division bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor directed the Centre to take an appropriate decision on the basis of the state’s report within a week. The authorities have been asked to inform the court about the developments in this regard by the next hearing on Nov 17.The bench was hearing a PIL filed by LPU student Ravi Raj seeking an independent investigation, preferably by CBI, into the violence, arson, vandalism, alleged looting and blockade of NH-44 following the circulation of unverified claims regarding the alleged rape and death of a girl student.A status report submitted by police mentions prima facie evidence to include offences under Section 66F of IT Act, which is why the charge was added. The petitioner’s counsel, senior advocate Gaurav Chopra and advocate Arjun Sheoran, said the state is required to forward the report to central govt, which will then determine if the offence is a scheduled one and if it’s fit to be investigated by National Investigation Agency.If NIA takes over the case, the police investigation would have to be stalled and all documents and records transmitted to the agency, the bench noted in its order. “The affidavit filed by the state does not indicate that authorities have taken note of the provisions of the 2008 Act,” the HC order said, adding that this is why the state must forward the report to the Centre within 72 hours.“It goes without saying that considering the sensitivity of the issue, the investigating agency must deal with the matter with all promptness and seriousness,” the bench observed.The petitioner also sought constitution of an SIT, headed by an IG and comprising officers from outside Punjab, including at least one woman. The PIL seeks preservation of CCTV footage, action against fake or inflammatory social media content, disclosure of information by social media platforms, verified public updates through a designated nodal officer and measures to ensure the safety of students, particularly women and foreign students.
