Bengal passes preventive detention, legal curbs Bill

📌 Summary:

• The West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026, allowing detention of 'anti-socials' for almost a year
• A linked legislation restricts a detenu's access to a lawyer and provides for compensation by those accused of damaging private or public property
• The law empowers the government to detain those "generally reputed to be desperate and dangerous to the community" if it believes detention is necessary to stop future anti-social activity

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Polity — preventive detention versus personal liberty (Articles 21 and 22), civil liberties, and State use of public-order powers

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Preventive detention safeguards are provided in Article 22 of the Constitution
• Article 22 bars detention beyond three months without an Advisory Board's opinion
• Public order and police are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule

🔑 Key Term: Preventive detention — detention to prevent a person from committing a future offence, distinct from punitive detention that follows a crime.