LPU violence: High Court pulls up Punjab govt after student’s statement missing from sealed cover
LPU violence: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday raised questions about the Punjab Government’s investigation into the violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU). The case stems from a social media post that falsely claimed two girls had been sexually abused and killed on the campus.
Court wants clarity on student’s role
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor was hearing the matter. It focused on the questioning of an 18-year-old student who had shared the post. The Bench said the probe must establish whether she forwarded the message knowingly, or whether someone else used her phone to circulate it.
The court said the student should be questioned in a proper manner and the case investigated seriously. It also asked who had drafted the misleading message, which carried grave allegations and who was behind spreading it.
Student’s statement missing from sealed cover
The Punjab Government told the court that the student had shared the message on a social media platform but had no criminal intent. The police also submitted a report on her statement in a sealed cover.
When the Bench opened the cover, the student’s statement was not in it. The court expressed displeasure at the way the state had handled the matter and asked it to take the case seriously.
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Court’s earlier remarks on fake posts
At an earlier hearing, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had said that spreading false information about an incident that never took place can pose a serious threat to law and order. It observed that such posts can suddenly spark violence and cause loss of life and property.
The court had also asked whether only the person who shared the post should be held responsible or whether there should be a way to fix accountability on social media platforms too. It said the probe should not stop at the person who shared the post and must find the source of the false information and the people behind its spread.
The Chief Justice had also noted that the Constitution gives everyone the freedom to hold opinions and to criticise. But knowingly spreading false information to inflame public feeling, he said, cannot be treated as free speech.
Claim of Rs 30 crore loss
The lawyer for the petitioner student told the court that police personnel were also injured during the violence. He claimed the incidents caused losses of about Rs 30 crore. This figure was put forward by the petitioner’s side.
Link with Chitkara University incident
According to the state government, tension had built up at Chitkara University after a student allegedly died by suicide on September 25. The false claim about an alleged sexual assault of a student at LPU by a male staff member was spread on social media the next day. The petitioner had claimed that the two events were connected.
The High Court said the two incidents should be examined separately. It directed the state to find out whether the same platform was used to spread information about both.
Border state, higher risk
The state told the court that nine persons have been arrested so far. Two of them are outsiders who are said to be employees of a pizza delivery company. Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain also referred to allegations about outsiders entering the LPU campus. He said the authorities should identify such people and investigate.
The High Court observed that Punjab is a border state, so the risk of large-scale unrest from false information cannot be ignored. It said that if thousands of students learn through social media that a serious incident has occurred, they may come out on the streets. Pointing to the roughly 28,000 students at LPU, the court said the university could have to stay shut for several days in such a situation.
Platform accountability under consideration
The court said a clear process is needed to deal with such cases. It is also considering what mechanism could make a social media platform answerable if false information spread on it leads to violence or loss of life or property.
- PTC NEWS
