New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu has returned the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026, or the ‘Anti-Goonda‘ Bill for reconsideration after the centre flagged a conflict between Bill’s provisions on drug-related offences and the existing central law on preventive detention in narcotics cases, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.The objection raised by the centre pertains specifically to Section 2(d)(iii)(b) of the Bill, which includes offences under the NDPS Act within the ascribed definition of a “goonda.” The centre said the provision could overlap with the preventive-detention mechanism under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988, reported the Indian Express. “The proposed provision may, therefore, create an overlapping or parallel preventive-detention mechanism in respect of drug-related activities and may give rise to an issue of repugnancy under Article 254 of the Constitution of India. Accordingly, the reference to offences under NDPS Act, 1985 in Section 2(d)(iii)(B) may be deleted to avoid duplication and overlap with the existing Central statutory framework,” it said.A senior state government official, quoted by the Indian Express, while recommending the removal of the reference to the NDPS Act from the Bill, said the Suvendu Adhikari-led state administration could make the required changes, place the Bill before the assembly once again and then re-send it to the president for assent.The BillThe ‘Anti-Goonda’ Bill, introduced in the West Bengal assembly in June this year, seeks to provide a legal framework for preventing and monitoring what it terms as “anti-social activities.” Offences falling under its ambit include acts causing fear or insecurity, serious danger to life or property, disturbance of public order, unlawful dispossession and substantial damage to public and private property. It also covers certain activities relating to illegal mining, quarrying, sand extraction, forest-produce and wildlife.Also read: West Bengal’s Public Safety Bills Revive the Ghosts of Rowlatt ActAccording to this classification, the Bill’s definition of a “goonda” encompasses people who habitually commit, attempt, abet, promote or finance anti-social activities, along with those charged under particular provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Arms Act, NDPS Act, Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and Explosive Substances Act.The proposed legislation provides for preventive detention for a maximum of 12 months. Detention orders, meanwhile, could be issued by the state government under specified conditions, while the district magistrate or Commissioner of Police could exercise such powers when authorised. The Bill can also authorise a senior police officer to order a person to leave a specified area and prohibit their return for up to one year, after giving them an opportunity to present their case.Opposition to the billAfter its introduction in June 2026, the Bill faced considerable opposition for the fear of it being misused to further political goals of the ruling BJP government. Chief Minister Adhikari had then issued a statement assuring the opposition that the statute would not be used to further political vendetta.“Those who are expressing concern about the preventive arrest provisions have no reason to be afraid; the administration will act in accordance to the law and there will be no misuse of the law in any way,” he had said, as per the Indian Express.On August 6, a Calcutta High Court division bench comprising Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Partha Sarathi Chatterjee had also dismissed two public interest litigations (PILs) that had been filed to express discontent against the Bill, challenging it as premature because presidential assent had not yet been acquired. The court had dismissed the PILs saying the petitioners could again contest the law once it had received assent.As per the Indian Express report, Adhikari has claimed on multiple occasions, in the past, that the ‘Goonda Daman Bill’ had been passed and become law. He had also informed the state assembly that the ‘Goonda Daman Act’ had been invoked against those accused of orchestrating violence during the July 24 march at Esplanade.With the president now returning the Bill, the state government will now have to alter the flagged provisions before it can presented for presidential assent agin.