West Bengal is going to present two such laws in the Assembly, which will change the police action against violent incidents and anti-social activities in the state to a great extent. It will become easier for the police administration to take action against such people whom it will consider a threat to public order and security. The objective of both the bills is to stop organized crime, extortion, public disorder, illegal mining and smuggling of natural resources in West Bengal.
Under the ‘West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill’, the Shubhendu government can keep a person considered a threat to public order and security in preventive custody for 12 months without trial. At the same time, under the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Bill, the administration will be given the right to auction the property of criminals to compensate for the loss in case of violence and riots.
According to NCRB 2024 data, 1,467 cases of murder were reported in Bengal during the year 2024. During this period, 38,112 cases were registered against women. 22,530 cases of kidnapping were recorded. More than 34,000 violent crimes were confirmed, while more than 5,800 cases of breach of peace were reported. However, NCRB has definitely declared Kolkata as the fourth safest city in the country.
Headlines
- Compensation will be taken from those who damage properties in violent incidents
- The decision of Claim Commission on recovery of compensation will be considered final.
- Advisory board will be formed to review the applications of detained people
What will be considered anti-social activity?
Anti-social activities have also been defined in the copy published in a special issue of Kolkata Gazette on June 24. In the Bill, anti-social activity means any act which causes direct panic, danger, fear or insecurity among the people, grave danger to life or property, disturbance of public order, obstruction in trade, business or profession, illegal eviction of a person from his movable or immovable property.
Any illegal activity involving huge loss or damage to public and private property, mining, stone quarrying, sand extraction, forest produce or wildlife, which causes huge loss to the government exchequer, has also been included as anti-social activity.
Who is described as a goon in the bill?
In the bill, criminals who are members or leaders of any group, gang or syndicate against whom a charge sheet has previously been filed under Section 111 (Organized Crime) or Section 112 (Small-Scale Organized Crime) of the Indian Justice Code (BNS) are called goons.
Such people have been categorized as goondas, who have committed or attempted to commit an offense punishable under the Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act or Narcotic Drugs or Psychotropic Substances Act. The notification states that on the basis of a detention order issued under this Act and confirmed under Section 10, a person can be detained for a maximum of 12 months. Is.
The state government can make changes in the detention order at any time
According to the notification of the bill, the state government can cancel or change the detention order at any time. Even after the detention order is canceled or its period expires, a new detention order can be issued against the same person. If after release he is again found involved in anti-social activities or if there is reasonable apprehension that he may be involved in anti-social activities, then a detention order can be issued against him again.
Claim commission will be formed to recover compensation
Under the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026, it is proposed to recover compensation from people who are found guilty of vandalizing public or private property during any unlawful assembly, riot, public disturbance, protest or other disturbance affecting public order. There is a proposal to create claim commissions at different places in the bill.
Claim Commission’s decision will be the final decision
It has been said in the notification that every decision of the Claim Commission will be final. His decision cannot be appealed in any court. The bill also proposes to create one or more three-member advisory boards to review the applications of detained people. Each board will be headed by a sitting or retired High Court judge and will have two members who are qualified to become High Court judges.
It has been said in the notification that unless permission is given, no lawyer can present the side of the detained person before the Advisory Board. The proceedings of the Board, except its opinion, shall be confidential. If all three members do not agree, the majority opinion will prevail.
UP, Tamil Nadu. There is such a bill in Gujarat and Maharashtra also
Bills of this type are already in force in states like Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Similarly, ‘Uttar Pradesh Control of Organized Crime Act, 2017’ prohibits granting of bail. Allows judicial remand to be increased from 90 days to 180 days. In Gujarat, the Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime Act 2015 allows preventive detention as well as the admissibility of intercepted telephone conversations as evidence in court.
There is a similar bill in Tamil Nadu, which is commonly called ‘Gundas Act’. This bill also allows preventive detention for one year without trial. Whereas, the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, 1999 does not allow suspects to apply for anticipatory bail during investigation and gives them the right to detention.
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