1 week ago
West Bengal Goonda Bill Awaits Presidential Assent, Adhikari Says
West Bengal passed two bills about public disorder and property damage.
One bill, called the Goonda bill, would allow authorities to detain people accused of anti-social activities.
It has not started because the President has not approved it yet.
Officials are checking whether some of its rules conflict with a national law.
A separate bill about taking and auctioning property after damage was approved and started on Monday.
The state says it may seek three times the value of damaged property.
Suvendu Adhikari also said many women complained about the Annapurna scheme.
He said the government would check the complaints and speed up citizenship certificates for people applying under the CAA.
Suvendu Adhikari said West Bengal’s Goonda bill is awaiting the President’s assent and has not yet taken effect.
The state’s separate property-confiscation law received the governor’s assent and came into force on Monday.
The new law allows authorities to confiscate and auction property linked to damage of public and private assets, with three-fold compensation sought.
Officials said the Goonda bill’s detention provisions may conflict with the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and require Union review.
Adhikari also reported 4.5 lakh Annapurna complaints and said 23,000 of 2.30 lakh CAA applicants had received citizenship certificates.
- Who
- West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, state officials, Annapurna applicants and Citizenship (Amendment) Act applicants.
- What
- The Goonda bill is awaiting presidential assent, while a separate property-confiscation law has taken effect.
- Where
- West Bengal, including the state government headquarters at Nabanna.
- When
- The property law came into force on Monday; the Goonda bill was passed in the state Assembly in June-end.
- Why
- The Goonda bill requires presidential assent because officials say parts of it conflict with provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.
State Government Position
Legal Review Concerns
Presidential approval
State Government Position
Adhikari said the state is hopeful that the President’s assent will be secured soon and that the Union law ministry has approved the bill.
Legal Review Concerns
Officials said the bill was sent to the Rashtrapati Bhavan because some provisions may conflict with central law and require examination before a recommendation is made.
Detention powers
State Government Position
The bill is intended to enable detention of people described as anti-socials for up to 12 months without trial.
Legal Review Concerns
Officials said this provision conflicts with the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita’s provision allowing detention of suspects for up to three months.
Legal representation
State Government Position
The state has presented the bill as part of a broader effort to control anti-social activity.
Legal Review Concerns
An official said provisions restricting suspects from deploying lawyers for a certain period may also conflict with central provisions.
Key facts
- Goonda bill status
- Passed by the West Bengal Assembly in June-end but not yet enacted; awaiting the President’s assent.
- Property law status
- Notified and effective across Bengal from Monday after the governor’s assent.
- Proposed detention period
- The Goonda bill allows detention of suspected goondas for up to 12 months without trial, according to a senior official.
- Central-law comparison
- Officials said the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita allows authorities to detain suspects for up to three months.
- Annapurna beneficiaries
- The state said benefits had been transferred to 1.45 crore women.
- Annapurna complaints
- Around 4.5 lakh complaints were received through the scheme’s portal.
- CAA applications
- The state reported 2.30 lakh applications, of which 23,000 had received citizenship certificates.
Quotes
Suvendu Adhikari
Chief minister of West Bengal quoted discussing the two bills and the pending presidential assent.
“There were two parts to this (the whole exercise). One part was to detain the anti-socials and another part was to recover the damage from them by auctioning their properties. The part of auctioning the properties of anti-socials has been notified, and the other part is waiting the President’s assent.”
telegraphindia.com
“The bill to attach and confiscate properties of those who ransack public and private properties has been notified on Monday after the governor’s assent. With the Act coming into force, we will see who dares to ransack state-run buses as they did in Santragachi or rampage in Dhulian and Samserganj.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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