West Bengal likely to implement Uniform Civil Code in August, assembly passes twin OBC bills and public safety act

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday brought up the UCC bill stating that a select committee was a step towards implementing the bill in the state.

The high-level committee led by retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Desai will draft finer details of the UCC. This panel will submit its recommendations within four weeks and the UCC bill will be tabled in the assembly in August based on those recommendations.

The state's tribal, indigenous, Kurmi, and other recognised ancient ethnic communities are kept outside the purview of the UCC which Adhikari clarified that these exemptions are in accordance to similar models in Uttarakhand and Gujarat.

Apart from retired Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Desai, the committee will include a retired IAS officer, a legal expert, an educationist, a social worker and an additional secretary from the state government's general administration department. The additional secretary will also discharge the duties of the committee's secretary for administrative matters.

Three other bills were passed in the West Bengal assembly on Monday, including the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the West Bengal Backward Classes (Other Than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The third one was West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-social Activities Bill, 2026.

OBC bills

The twin OBC bills were introduced by Backward Classes Development Minister Gouri Shankar Ghosh and the BJP’s rationale behind passing the bills was in compliance with the Calcutta High Court directive of May 2024. No Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe(ST) bills were touched.

“The Backward Classes commission will conduct inquiries and if any community needs to be included, the commission can make recommendations for state government’s considerations. The Calcutta High court struck down the process as the previous government had bypassed the commission,” said minister Gouri Shankar Ghosh while also saying the erstwhile government’s move as vote bank  politics to please certain communities. 

The HC had scrapped OBC certificates granted to 77 communities in the state since 2010 as they bypassed the 1993 Act. The court directed that a fresh list should be created and to reorganise the state’s OBC categories based on the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes Act of 1993 by the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes. 

A total of 113 additional caste groups were added during the Trinamool Congress (TMC) rule, including from the Muslim community. The amendments made now take reservation from 17 per cent during the erstwhile TMC government’s time to 7 per cent with 66 OBC communities, scrapping the earlier rule.

A total of 182 MLAs voted in favour of the bill while 17 MLAs voted against the bill. The rebel bloc of TMC led by Ritabrata Banerjee staged a walkout, except for five MLAs who did not join the walkout.

The West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes which is a statutory body will look into claims and inclusions in the list with a survey to support their move. The state government will then decide whether these communities are included in the OBC list.

Public safety bill

West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-social Activities Bill, 2026 enables stricter action against anti-social activities by offenders, including damage of public property. These actions include preventive detention for up to a year without trial. The bill is aimed at preventing riots and punishing offenders for unlawful activities. The bills also covers property being seized and confiscation of assets, which are linked to anti-social activities. A total of 176 MLAs voted in favour of the bill while 41 MLAs voted against the bill.

CM Adhikari said politics was criminalised by CPI(M) during their 34-year-old Left Front rule in the state by introducing the ‘goonda’ culture. Adhikari also accused TMC of minority appeasement, while referring to the protests related to Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Waqf Amendment Act, 2025.

The murders of CPI(M) workers Hargobindo Das and Chandan Das and the ordeal to their families were mentioned while tabling the bill. “People resorted to vandalising public and government property. We will not misuse the law. We will ensure that no damage is caused to public and private property. It is the government’s responsibility to enforce the law and hence the importance of this,” said Adhikari.

This act gives district magistrates and police commissioners the authority to issue specific orders in certain situations, where an individual or group of people are considered to create fear, threaten life, disrupt public order or trade. While there are provisions under the current laws to take action against such offenders, the BJP said the laws prove to be inadequate.