New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu has returned the West Bengal government’s proposed anti-goonda bill for reconsideration after objecting to a provision which may overlap with a central anti-narcotics law, an official said on Friday.
The West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026, or the anti-goonda bill, was passed in the assembly in June, substantially expanding the state’s powers to tackle organised crime, extortion, illegal mining, cybercrime and public disorder.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, defending the legislation, termed the proposed “preventive arrest” bill transparent and stressed that whatever he said has materialised and it will continue to happen.
The Bill was sent to the President for assent, and she returned it for reconsideration over a provision related to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the official said.
The provision in question is Section 2(d)(iii)(B), which brings within the definition of a “goonda” a person involved in committing, attempting, abetting, promoting, financing or facilitating an offence punishable under the NDPS Act, the note issued by the central government before returning the bill mentioned.
The note also pointed out that the provision could cover ground already dealt with under the PITNDPS Act, 1988, a central law specifically providing for preventive detention of people involved in the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
Section (B) of the bill may overlap with the preventive-detention framework provided under the PITNDPS Act, 1988, the note said.
It was further observed that having both provisions could result in two parallel preventive-detention mechanisms operating in relation to drug-related activities.
The note also raised the question of possible repugnancy under Article 254 of the Constitution, which deals with the doctrine of repugnancy, resolving inconsistencies between laws made by Parliament and state legislatures on subjects in the Concurrent List.
To prevent duplication and overlap between the proposed legislation and the Central law, the note recommends removing the reference to offences under the NDPS Act, 1985, from Section 2(d)(iii)(B).
A top state government bureaucrat said that the note would be reviewed properly.
"At the moment, we cannot talk much about the development. We will go through the note before deciding the next step," he said.
"But, as there is still a provision to again table the bill in the Assembly, we are hopeful that it could be sent to the President after amendment," the bureaucrat said.
Responding to the development, TMC's Mamata Banerjee faction leader Abhishek Banerjee criticised the BJP-led Centre.
In a post on X, he said, “Double engine on the posters. Reverse gear in governance. Homework returned for correction.”
In an apparent response to Banerjee's post, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said those he described as “goondas” were afraid and were therefore making comments on social media.
“Whatever we do, we do it in a legal way. To date, whatever I have said has materialised, and in the coming days that will continue to happen. Those who are goons will go to jail,” he added.
“The preventive arrest Bill is very clear and transparent. It's in four other states and will be in this state too,” Adhikari said.