Kolkata: Those accused of riots, arson and vandalism will get a 30-day window to pay the penalty decided upon by the state govt, on expiry of which their properties might be auctioned to exact the damages, said the state govt’s gazette notification on the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Act, 2026, issued on Monday.State govt has set up a compensation commission to decide upon and exact the penalty directly from the accused and award “exemplary compensation” up to twice the actual cost of the losses caused and the final payout cannot be lower than the market value of the property on the day it was destroyed. Claim petitions can be filed within three months of the incident.The new legislation mirrors the strict recovery formats implemented in states like UP and allows the state govt to set up one or more claims commissions. A commission will have to be headed by a former district Judge, while members must hold a rank not below that of a deputy secretary.The law grants the commissions the comprehensive powers of a civil court, empowering them to summon witnesses, take evidence on oath, compel the production of documents, and order the interim attachment of a respondent’s movable or immovable property. The law, in fact, bars civil courts from entertaining any matters falling under the commissions’ jurisdiction.Crucially, financial liability will not just be confined to actual perpetrators on ground caught damaging property but allows the commission to penalise anyone who instigated, incited, abetted, organised, sponsored, or even harboured vandals.The scope of recoverable damages is also vast, covering public property, private property, and the actual expenses incurred by authorities in deploying preventive or remedial measures during the unrest. Recovery proceedings will run completely independent of any parallel criminal cases arising from the same incident.A claims commission may appoint a commissioner to estimate the damage, investigate the liability and assist the commission in the conduct of the inquiry.
