The ‘West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Act, 2026’—enacted to curb corruption, anti-social activities, and organised crime in West Bengal—came into effect at midnight on Monday.
The bill was introduced in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on June 29 and became law after being passed and receiving the Governor’s assent.
Under the new law, the police and administration have been granted enhanced powers to tackle anti-social activities, breaches of law and order, and organised crime. It also provides for stringent punishments and penalties for offenders.
A key feature of the law is the provision for preventive detention. If an individual is deemed a threat to public safety, they can be placed under preventive detention for up to one year.
Opposition parties and certain social organisations have expressed concern regarding this provision, arguing that it could empower the police to detain individuals arbitrarily.
However, the state government maintains that preventive detention will be invoked only after adhering to a prescribed procedure. An advisory board will be constituted to determine whether the detention of an individual is justified.
This board will function under the chairmanship of a sitting or former judge of the Calcutta High Court and will include two other members qualified to be High Court judges. The detained individual will also have the right to present their case before the board.
The law empowers the state government to confiscate the assets of those found guilty in such cases. Additionally, the police can prohibit an individual from entering a specific area or order their removal from it if there is an apprehension of a breach of peace.
The new law also includes a provision for “externment orders.” Under this, an officer at the level of District Magistrate or Superintendent of Police can order an individual to stay out of a specific area or the entire district for up to one year if there is a risk of the law-and-order situation being compromised.
