President returns Bengal anti-goonda bill over overlap with central law

Kolkata, Sep 25 (PTI) 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.

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 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 an 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.