Overview
- The West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti‑Social Activities Act, 2026 came into force on Monday, July 13, allowing authorities to treat offences under the law as cognisable and non‑bailable.
- The statute permits preventive detention for up to 12 months, authorises externment orders removing individuals from areas, and gives police power to search, seize and arrest without warrants in cases it defines as 'anti‑social'.
- Every detention must be reviewed by an advisory board headed by a serving or former High Court judge but the law says detained persons are not ordinarily entitled to be represented by a private lawyer before that board and allows withholding sensitive material.
- A companion amendment creates a Claims Commission to assess and recover compensation for damage to public or private property and authorises attachment or sale of assets to satisfy awards.
- The law has prompted sharp political criticism and legal action, a PIL was filed and admitted in the Calcutta High Court which declined urgent listing, and early policing tied to the law overlapped with a July 13 Belgharia Expressway shootout that left alleged criminal Raja Dutta dead and led to five detentions.