The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set the stage for a possible National Investigation Agency (NIA) takeover of the investigation into the September violence and arson at Lovely Professional University (LPU), directing the Punjab government to submit a report to the Centre within 72 hours on the alleged applicability of cyber terrorism provisions.
The High Court has asked the Central government to examine whether the case warrants an NIA investigation.
The provision requires a state government to promptly inform the Centre when it receives information about the commission of a scheduled offence. The High Court further observed that if the Centre decides to hand over the investigation to the NIA, the Punjab Police would have to stop its probe and transfer all relevant documents to the central agency. The matter reached the High Court through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Ravi Raj, an LPU student, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the violence.
The High Court has asked the Central government to examine whether the case warrants an NIA investigation, after the Punjab Police reportedly found material during its probe indicating, prima facie, the applicability of Section 66F of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which deals with cyber terrorism. Taking note of the seriousness of the offence, the High Court directed the Punjab government to forward a report to the Centre under Section 6 of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act. The next hearing on November 17 is expected to bring clarity on whether the Centre considers the case serious enough to warrant an investigation by the NIA.
