Bengal brings Bill on year-long detention, restricting legal access
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday (June 29, 2026) passed two controversial legislations providing detention of ‘anti-socials’ for a year and restricting access to
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday (June 29, 2026) passed two controversial legislations providing detention of ‘anti-socials’ for a year and restricting access to a lawyer for such persons, and payment of compensation by those accused of damaging private or public property. The West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026, which was passed in the Assembly amidst thunderous applause by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators, empowers the government to detain a person if it believes detention is necessary to stop future anti-social activity for almost a year. It said the government can detain those “generally reputed to be desperate and dangerous to the community”. The Bill proposes constitution of an advisory board where every detention case will be scrutinised within three weeks.
The board, which will comprise a chairperson who is or has been a High Court judge, will decide if a person remains in detention or has to be released. Section 10 (4) of the Bill states, “A detained person shall not be ordinarily represented by a legal practitioner before an advisory board.” The proviso of the same sub-section says that the board may remove this prohibition in appropriate cases which should be recorded in writing. Another legislation passed, titled ‘The West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026’, imposes a payment of compensation by persons committing offences such as damage to public or private property. ‘Won’t misuse’ Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said such a law has become necessary because of the criminalisation of politics and added that similar laws have been implemented in Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand with different names.
Adhikari repeatedly referred to incidents of mob violence when the Trinamool Congress was in power, particularly the killings of Haragobinda Das and Chandan Das at Dhulian in Murshidabad in April 2025. “We will not misuse this law. This law will not be used against anyone for the purpose of political vendetta,” he said, amidst concern from Opposition parties. Trinamool MLA from Chanchal and former IPS officer Prasun Banerjee described certain provisions of the Bill as “scary” and said that the law will not stand judicial scrutiny. He said that by empowering the administration, the BJP government is creating a “Frankenstein” with sweeping powers. He said that by allowing District Magistrates to issue warrants, the Bill is trying to create a “State within the State”.
The BriefWire