The West Bengal assembly on Monday passed two law-and-order-related bills aimed at further strengthening the state's powers to tackle organised crime and public disorder, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari stating that the laws will “not be misused” for political vendetta or against those with clean background. The West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which holds individuals financially accountable for damage to public and private property during riots, unlawful assemblies, and violent protests, was passed in the House with 176 MLAs voting in favour and 42 against it, while 20 abstained. Simultaneously, The West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026 – which proposes preventive detention for up to 12 months without trial and expands the definition of anti-social activity to include a wide range of offences – received the approval of the state legislators by means of a voice vote.
The Bills were introduced in the House in the presence of the family members of Murshidabad riot victims – Haragobinda Das and Chandan Das, who were killed in front of their residence during Waqf Act-related violence in Bengal in April last year – while they watched the proceedings on the floor from the viewer’s gallery. “The wife of murdered Haragobinda Das, who is watching us today because she has been permitted by the Speaker, is the reason why we tabled these Bills. We must salute the family,” Adhikari said, even as members on the floor stood up and clapped to acknowledge the family’s presence.
Adhikari justified the need for the legislations in the wake of “widespread criminalisation of politics in the state”, which, he said, began in 1999 with the then ruling CPI(M) “patronising” a section of party strongmen to retain its grip on grassroots and panchayats by building ‘Harmad’ squads and which, eventually, became rampant since 2021 during the erstwhile TMC regime. The key provisions of the amendment Bill includes the setting up of a Claims Commission, a specialised body to assess damages and award compensation to victims. The commission’s awards would be final, with no provision for appeals in standard courts, the Bill stated. The legislation also extends liability to pay compensation, which can be extended to organisers, financiers, instigators, and logistical supporters of violence. It also provides for a timeframe, stating claims for compensation must be filed within three years of the alleged incident.
The Bill specifies recovery mechanisms from perpetrators in the eventuality of compensation not paid, stating that the commission can issue a certificate to the collector to recover the amount as arrears of land revenue, potentially leading to the attachment and auction of the offender's property. An amendment to the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act, 1972, which deals with riots, arson, looting, use of explosives and other actions that threaten public order, the fresh legislation is expected to widen the scope of the existing law and provide additional powers to the administration and police for dealing with such offences. It was passed in tandem with the state’s Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, which empowers authorities to confine a person with criminal antecedents for up to 12 months without trial, and expands the definition of anti-social activity to include a wide range of offences to curb organised crime and public disorder.
Modelled on similar laws in multiple states, the legislation also permits the auction of an offender’s property to recover losses resulting from anti-social activities. The proposed law would enable police to detain suspected gang members for extended periods and seize properties linked to criminal activities. The Bill defines anti-social activity as any act likely to cause alarm, danger, fear, or insecurity among people, or that poses a widespread danger to life or property. It also includes unlawful dispossession, obstruction of business, and illegal activities related to mining, sand extraction, and forest produce. “The majority community of Bengal has rejected the TMC through EVMs, the backlash of which was also felt by the former CM in her Bhabanipur constituency. This is because they displayed weakness in tackling law and order and families like those of Haragobinda Das paid dearly for it,” Adhikari said, speaking on the Bills.
“During the anti-CAA protests, which happened in Bengal and nowhere else, children were made to wear religious outfits and pushed to the forefront of violence. Railways tracks were uprooted and highways remained blocked for 36 hours at a stretch. Do only Hindus travel in trains? Muslims don’t?” he remarked. The chief minister, while referring to the recent vandalism in Asansol where suspects were made to compensate for damage, said that jail terms will not be enough for perpetrators of violence, as their properties would also be seized and quickly auctioned to recover money for the destruction caused. “What has happened, has happened in this state. We will not allow any more of it,” Adhikari said, reiterating that the law will not be enforced on “bhadraloks” (gentlemen) and seniors in politics, irrespective of their party leanings, who have a clean background.
The CM maintained that the current legislations plugged the loopholes in the earlier laws, which allowed criminals to take advantage of them. “The loopholes allowed the miscreants to be released after brief incarcerations and re-engage in anti-social activities and participate in elections. Those gaps have now been plugged,” he asserted.