Bengal brings Bill on year-long detention, restriction of legal access

The West Bengal Assembly on Monday passed a bill that would allow the preventive detention of “anti-social” persons for up to a year, The Hindu reported. The bill would not allow detainees to be represented by a lawyer before the panel reviewing their detention, except in certain cases.

Every detention case would be reviewed within three weeks by an advisory board headed by a serving or former High Court judge, which would decide whether the detainee should remain in custody or be released, the newspaper reported.

The Assembly also passed the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Amendment Bill which would require those found responsible for damaging public or private property during riots or unlawful assemblies to pay compensation.