The Punjab and Haryana High Court has told the State that its steps so far fall short of expectation in the probe into the violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU), triggered by a social media post about an event that did not occur, and has directed the State to write to social media platforms to take such posts down.
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Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday asked the State to take cognizance of the larger implications of the violence at LPU, Phagwara, which followed a post about a non-existent event shared on social media, and to prioritise the probe. Hearing a plea seeking transfer of the investigation to the CBI under the Court’s supervision, the Court gave the State police another opportunity to examine the matter before deciding on an independent agency. The matter will be heard next on October 27. The allegations in the petition are untested. [Plea seeking CBI probe into LPU violence]
A Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor heard the matter. The petitioner is an LPU student.
What The Bench Asked
The Bench said it expects the police to act on the wider consequences of the incident, which it said raise concerns of public safety, security and national interest.
We expect the police authorities to immediately take cognizance of the larger implications which arise out of the incident
The Court said the sharing of a non-existent event on social media to create unrest is a serious concern that must be handled on priority, and asked the police to take remedial steps immediately to apprehend the person responsible. Questioning the State, the Bench asked:
What troubles us that the incident took place on false narrative…what action have you taken?
The Court held that the steps taken by the State so far fall short of expectation.
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Directions To The State
The State has been directed to write to all social media platforms, including Google, to take down posts relating to the non-existent incident. Senior Advocate Gaurav Chopra raised the issue of such posts still appearing in searches.
Additional Advocate General Chanchal Singla, appearing for the State, told the Court that the original post was deleted on September 26, that the ADGP Cyber Crime has been appointed to probe the matter, and that the scope of the investigation has been expanded.
The Background
Violence broke out at the university on the night of September 26 and continued into September 27, after an unverified post circulated among students claiming that a serious offence had taken place on campus. According to the petition, around 2,000 students gathered outside the hostels and some blocked National Highway 44 between Phagwara and Jalandhar.
The petition alleges that outsiders arrived with weapons, broke gates, destroyed CCTV and other equipment, attacked guards, set fires and looted shops, ATMs and bank branches, and describes the incident as a well-planned and organised attack. It also refers to violence at Chitkara University, Rajpura, a night earlier, in which, the petition says, similar unverified claims were circulated. The university and the police have said that no such incident occurred.
The Court noted that three police vehicles were torched, several policemen were injured, and public property and malls suffered damage exceeding Rs 30 crore. The Court has expressed no view on the merits of the allegations, and no finding has been recorded against any person.
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Case Details: Plea seeking transfer of the investigation into the LPU violence to the CBI under the supervision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court; Bench: Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor; Date of hearing: October 12, 2026; Next hearing: October 27, 2026; case title and number not reported.
Appearances: Additional Advocate General Chanchal Singla for the State of Punjab; Senior Advocate Gaurav Chopra.