Two private bills including alcohol, gambling ban withdrawn

After being introduced in the National Parliament, the two private bills, the ‘Liquor and Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2026’ and the ‘Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2026’, have been withdrawn.

On the 22nd working day of the second and first budget sessions of the 13th National Parliament, MP Shahjahan Chowdhury from Chattogram-15 constituency introduced the two bills on Thursday. Later, at the request of Law Minister Md. Asaduzzaman, he withdrew them.

The Law Minister said that the purpose of the two bills is included in the existing law. He said that the Gambling Act, 2026 has already been passed in the Parliament and various sections of the Narcotics Control Act, 2018 also include liquor-related matters. Therefore, there is no need to enact a new similar law.

Later, Deputy Speaker Barrister Kaiser Kamal said that since the member who introduced the bill himself agreed to withdraw the bill, the issue will not be put to a vote.

What were the proposals in the two bills?

The proposal for the Liquor and Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2026, had made provisions for a complete ban on drinking alcohol, alcoholic beverages and gambling in the country. The proposal said that the initiative was taken to bring the law with the aim of protecting the youth and the youth from the harmful effects of alcohol and gambling, preventing social degradation and improving public health and morality.

On the other hand, the Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Act, 2026, proposed changes in the post-mortem procedure. It proposed to provide for the provision of post-mortem in the case of women behind the curtain and in accordance with the Shariah method and, on the request of the relatives of the deceased in road accidents, to allow burial or cremation without post-mortem in some cases. However, this bill was eventually withdrawn.