The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday questioned the Punjab government over its handling of the investigation into the violence at Lovely Professional University (LPU), Phagwara.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor observed that an 18-year-old first-year student, who had forwarded a social media message claiming that two girls were sexually assaulted and murdered, had not been properly questioned by the police.
The Bench said circulating such serious and damaging messages was a matter of concern. It stressed the need to question the student to determine whether someone had used her to spread the message or whether another person had accessed her phone and circulated it.
During the hearing, Additional Advocate-General Chanchal K Singla told the court that the student had forwarded the message through a social media platform but had no mens rea, meaning criminal intent.
The police had also recorded the student's statement, and a sealed report was presented before the High Court. However, the Bench found that the student's statement was missing from the sealed envelope.
Taking note of this, the court questioned the State government's handling of the matter and expressed concern over what it viewed as a casual approach to the investigation.
During the proceedings, senior advocate Gaurav Chopra, appearing for the petitioner-student, told the court that police personnel had sustained injuries during the violence.
He also stated that the total loss arising from the incidents was approximately Rs 30 crore.
Advocate Ranjit Singh Bajaj represented Lovely Professional University in the matter.
The hearing comes amid the investigation into the incidents of violence at LPU, which followed the circulation of claims about the alleged sexual assault and murder of two female students.
The High Court's observations focused on whether the student who forwarded the message had been adequately questioned and whether the investigation had properly examined how the message originated and spread.
The court has not established the student's guilt or confirmed the claims circulated in the message. The matter remains under consideration.