Bill to prevent anti-social activities in West Bengal passed in Assembly by majority

Kolkata, June 29 (IANS) A new Bill, christened “The West Bengal Public Safety & Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026”, aimed at preventing corruption, anti-social and rowdy activities in the state, was passed in the West Bengal Assembly by a majority on Monday afternoon.

A total of 176 legislators, all from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) camp, voted in favour of the Bill. A total of 41 legislators voted against the Bill, while the remaining 20 legislators abstained from voting.

The Bill, aimed at ensuring public safety, maintaining law and order and establishing strict control over organised anti-social activities, also distinguishes itself from the various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, dealing with anti-social activities in two main respects.

The first is that if a person is identified as a danger to public safety, the Bill, after being enacted into law, would permit preventive detention for up to one year.

The second grants the state government the power to confiscate the property of a person involved in such an offence by invoking the appropriate provisions of the BNS.

For the implementation of the first provision, namely preventive detention, an advisory board will be constituted to decide whether such detention in the case of a particular individual is justified.

The advisory board will assess the reasonableness of the preventive detention. The detainee will be entitled to appoint a representative to defend himself before the board.

The advisory board will be headed by a serving or former judge of the Calcutta High Court. It will also have two other members who are qualified to be High Court judges.

The new law will also give the police the power to expel or prohibit a person from entering a particular area if they apprehend that the person might create unrest.

The law would also provide protection to police personnel and government employees involved in its implementation.

Speaking on the necessity of bringing such a strong Bill, the Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari, on the floor of the House detailed incidents of hooliganism and violence during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led and Trinamool Congress-ruled regime in West Bengal.

He also allayed fears regarding preventive detention and said that the provision is not meant for “gentlemen” but for those with repeated criminal antecedents.

–IANS

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