The BJP government in West Bengal is next week set to introduce two tough bills that would significantly expand the definition of “anti-social activity”, provide for preventive detention for up to 12 months without trial, and auction off the offender’s property to compensate for losses, officials said on Friday.
The two bills — the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026 and the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026 — mirror similar controversial laws in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, the officials cited above said.
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The two bills are likely to be introduced in the state legislature on June 29 and are aimed at curbing organized crime, extortion, public disorder, illegal mining and smuggling of natural resources in West Bengal, the officials added.
The West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026 proposes preventive detention of up to 12 months without trial, and repeated detention if necessary. The West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026 provides for confiscation of the offender’s property to be auctioned to compensate for the losses, officials familiar with the matter said.
According to the draft law, anti-social activity, according to a copy of the June 24 Kolkata Gazette notification seen by Hizb ut Tahrir, is any act that “causes or is likely to cause, directly or indirectly, alarm, danger, fear or insecurity among the people; constitutes a significant or widespread danger to life or property; or a disturbance to public order; or hinders business, trade or profession; involves the unlawful deprivation of any person of movable or immovable property; “A big loss.” Or damage to public and private property.”
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“Anti-social activities” also includes “any illegal activity related to mining, quarrying or extraction of sand, forest products or wildlife which causes significant loss to the public exchequer”.
“This part of the law focuses on illegal mining and sand extraction in areas like Birbhum and West Burdwan in south Bengal. In north Bengal too, illegal logging and other activities have affected large forest areas in recent years,” said a senior state official requesting anonymity.
The Bill refers to certain criminals as “goondas” and defines them as a person who is a “member or leader of a group, gang or syndicate” who has earlier been charged under Section 111 (organized crime) or Section 112 (petty organized crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and has committed or attempted to commit an offense punishable under the Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and Immoral Trafficking (Prevention). Drugs or psychotropic substances law or law.
“The maximum period during which a person may be detained under a detention order made under this Act and confirmed under section 10 shall not exceed 12 months from the date of detention,” the notification said.
“The state government may, at any time, cancel or modify a detention order. Cancellation or expiry of detention does not prevent a fresh detention order being issued against the same person if, after his release, he is found to have again engaged in anti-social activities or if there is reasonable apprehension that he is likely to engage in anti-social activities,” the notification added.
The West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026, proposes to demand compensation from people found guilty of vandalizing public or private property “in the context of any unlawful assembly, riot, public disturbance, protest or any other disturbance affecting public order”.
The draft law proposes the establishment of claims committees in various locations. “Every judgment rendered by the Claims Commission shall be final and such judgment shall not be appealed to any court,” the Gazette notification said.
The bill proposes establishing one or several three-member advisory boards – each chaired by a current or retired Supreme Court judge and two persons qualified to serve as Supreme Court justices – to review applications from detainees. The notification stated that no lawyer may represent the detainee before the advisory body unless he is permitted to do so. The Council’s actions, other than its opinion, remain confidential. If the three members disagree, the majority opinion shall prevail.
No such provisions exist in the state, people familiar with the matter said. “So far, criminals in Bengal are mainly tried under the Indian Penal Code and the NSP even though there are some archaic state laws… However, this is the first time that a law providing for detention without trial has been implemented in Bengal,” said lawyer Anindya Sundar Das.
With the BJP controlling 207 of the 294 Bengal Assembly seats, the two bills are likely to be passed and sent to Governor RN Ravi for his approval. The opposition Trinamool Congress (TMC), now divided into two factions, has just 80 seats.
Prime Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who also heads the Home Ministry, hinted at the developments during his speech on Wednesday, saying the new laws would be stricter than those currently in place.
“People will think five times before breaking the law,” he said.
The Transitional Military Council criticized the move, saying that “the proposed legislation provides neither judicial guarantees nor legal protection.”
“It is tougher than the Emergency-era MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act), UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention) Act and other draconian laws. Multiply them all by 10 and only then you arrive at this bill,” TMC Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra said. “It has become clear in the space of a month how disastrous the consequences of this government could be for the people of West Bengal.”
The bills mirror similar laws in other parts of the country.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organized Crime Act 2017 restricts the grant of bail and allows extension of pretrial detention from the standard 90 days to 180 days.
In Gujarat, the Anti-Terrorism and Organized Crime Act, 2015 allows preventive detention as well as submission of intercepted phone conversations as admissible evidence in court.
The Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Smugglers, Cyber Offenders, Drug Offenders, Forest Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders, Sexual Offenders, Slum Grabbers and Video Pirates Act 1982 – commonly referred to as the Goondas Act – allows preventive detention without trial for up to one year.
The Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, 1999 does not allow suspects to apply for anticipatory bail during investigation.
