West Bengal Chief Minister Denies President Returned Anti-Goonda Bill
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and the PIB Fact Check Unit debunked reports that President Droupadi Murmu returned West Bengal's anti-social activities legislation for reconsideration.
Reports initially emerged on September 25, 2026, claiming that President Droupadi Murmu returned the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026, to the state government. These reports suggested the legislation was returned because its definition of a goonda overlapped with the central Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, potentially creating a parallel preventive-detention mechanism in violation of Article 254 of the Constitution.
However, Suvendu Adhikari, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, and the Press Information Bureau Fact Check Unit later debunked these claims as baseless. Official clarifications state that the bill, which was passed by the West Bengal Assembly in June to combat organized crime and cybercrime, has not yet reached the president. The legislation remains under examination by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Chief Minister Adhikari rejected the reports of the bill's return and expressed confidence that the legislation would eventually receive presidential assent. He previously defended the broader exercise of the legislation as a means to detain anti-social elements and recover damages by auctioning their properties.
