High-profile criminal cases in the early 2000s exposed critical flaws in India’s original juvenile justice law, forcing lawmakers to overhaul the legislation and balance public safety concerns with the goal of rehabilitating young offenders and helping them reintegrate into society. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 aims to ensure that the child is protected from violence, abuse and exploitation by taking a holistic, child-friendly approach and addressing the root causes of the crime committed and attributing the crimes to problems such as poverty, abuse or lack of education that plague disadvantaged youth.
The bill also introduces certain worthwhile initiatives such as: B. foster care, which creates a system in which abandoned and/or orphaned children or those in conflict with the law are sent to registered families who receive financial support from the state for this purpose. The provisions also provide for a “place of safety” for children both during and after the trial until they reach the age of 21. Once this is the case, an assessment will be made by the Children’s Court, whose verdict would either result in the defendant being released on probation or, failing that, being sent to prison for the remainder of his sentence. Children Services such as education, health, nutrition, addiction de-addiction, disease treatment, vocational training, skills development, life skills education, counseling, etc. are also offered to help them play a constructive role in society, as well as care and sponsorship to meet their non-institutional care needs.
Source: FII
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 also advocates the principle of a “fresh start” to avoid labeling and stigmatization that follows the accused throughout their adult life. The court in United States v. Dancy stressed the need for an expulsion system noticed that “the stigma of a criminal conviction may be a greater handicap later in life than an entire wasted youth.” This concept is therefore in line with the maxim “rehabilitation rather than retribution”, which has been declared the aim of this policy.
While the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 was far from perfect as the provisions of the bill allow unregistered orphanages and charities to operate within the state, which have reported several cases of sexual abuse, it was a landmark piece of legislation that redefined the treatment of children in conflict with the law in India and reiterated the need for a legal infrastructure to support reformative justice.
The reality check: Ground-level errors in the youth system
However, the India Justice Report is groundbreaking study“Juvenile Justice and Children in Conflict with the Law: A Study of Capacity at the Frontlines,” published November 20, 2025, revealed significant gaps between legislative intent and reality on the ground. More than half (55%) of the 1,00,904 cases before 362 Juvenile Justice Boards (the body that deals with children in conflict with the law) were still pending as of October 21, 2023. While 92% of India’s 765 districts have formed JJBs, the pendency rate varies from state to state, from 83% in Odisha to 35% in Karnataka. This means that more than 50,000 children in trouble with the law were waiting for justice. The study observed:
“The legislature’s promise that the case of a child in conflict with the law will be dealt with promptly and in a manner that promotes the child’s sense of dignity and worth remains largely unfulfilled: like adult prisoners, children must bear the consequences of an inconsistent system.”
Vacancies and infrastructure gaps
These below-average results of the law can be attributed to numerous vacancies at the judicial level. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 sets out the multidisciplinary composition of the JJB, with each board comprising a principal judge and two social workers. This ensures that a legal judgment is made at the interface between psychosocial understanding and social justice. However, almost one in four (24%) of JJBs work without full board.
Source: FII
Justice Madan B. Lokur, a former justice of India’s Supreme Court, called the findings worrying. proverb it is evidence “of a significant number of vacancies in childcare facilities”.
“This has a detrimental impact on children who fall under its jurisdiction,” he said. These adverse effects can include slower and more protracted hearings, the diminishing possibility of a holistic and rehabilitative verdict, and the fact that children are held in institutions for extended periods of time, sometimes beyond legal limits.
Of the 292 districts that reported usable data, only 11 had the basic minimum requirements required by the law, including a JJB, a special juvenile police unit, a child welfare facility, legal aid services, probation officers, adequate staffing, and manageable prison sentences. Eight of these 11 districts were in Mizoram itself, showing that the majority of the nation did not even have the adequate machinery required to deal fairly with children in conflict with the law.
The law also requires special “safe spaces” for 16- to 18-year-olds accused of heinous crimes. But fourteen states – including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana – lack even such a facility. Older juveniles are instead held in observation homes or adult-type facilities, in direct violation of the basic principles of the law.
Older juveniles are instead held in observation homes or adult-type facilities, in direct violation of the basic principles of the law.
Girl things are getting worse. Because there are only 40 residential facilities nationwide to accommodate girls, authorities move girls across districts or states, cutting their ties to family members and legal guardians. These children end up in mixed environments with different ages and offending profiles, putting them at great risk – exactly what the 2015 law was designed to prevent.
The black data hole
Maja Daruwala, Editor-in-Chief, India Justice Report, said: “The specially designed juvenile justice system is structured in a pyramid shape.” Its optimal functioning relies on a regular flow of information from first responders at individual institutions such as police stations and nursing homes to regulators at the district, state and national levels. But IJR’s efforts to widely access reliable data show that authorized regulators neither routinely receive nor insist on it. “Scattered and irregular data makes surveillance episodic and accountability hollow.”
Source: FII
Justice Madan B. Lokur, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India, added: “The IJR study exposes the gaps in our juvenile justice system.” Although ten years have passed since the implementation of the 2015 JJ Law, it is concerning that a quarter of JJBs did not have full staffing and evidence of a significant number of staff vacancies in childcare settings. This has a detrimental impact on children who fall under its jurisdiction.” He further said the inadequate and patchy data in RTIs was worrisome.
“It is important that a child-centred national data grid integrates information about the functioning of the juvenile justice system and that all agencies involved regularly publish standardized data about its functioning in relation to children.” Unless the information backbone is built and utilized, the system cannot truly serve the best interests of the child,” he added.
A decade after the 2015 law promised rehabilitation and dignity, thousands of children remain trapped in a system based more on principles than practice.
A decade after the 2015 law promised rehabilitation and dignity, thousands of children remain trapped in a system based more on principles than practice. The legislation provided for new beginnings and reformative justice; Reality brings delays, vacancies and violations of the law’s own protections. India’s juvenile justice system has the framework for change – but lacks the will to implement it.
References:
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-law/how-indias-juvenile-justice-system-is-failing-its-children-10381687
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/10-yrs-of-jj-act-55-pendency-1-in-4-boards-has-no-full-bench/articleshow/125472964.cms
https://lawbhoomi.com/powers-and-functions-of-the-juvenile-justice-board/#:~:text=
The Juvenile Justice Board is the cornerstone of India’s child welfare system and oversees rehabilitation and care facilities.
Procedure in relation to Children in Conflict with Law under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/report-says-over-50000-children-in-conflict-with-law-await-justice-amid-high-pendency-in-juvenile-justice-boards/articleshow/125453099.cms
https://ijirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/THE-FAILINGS-OF-JUVENILE-JUSTICE-IN-INDIA.pdf
https://newsreel.asia/articles/india-juvenile-justice-system-failure-new-study
Insha Hamid works in film and television and has a strong interest in intersectional feminism, public policy, and how progress can be achieved at the intersection of economic development and social justice. When she’s not immersed in a philosophy book or writing a political article, you can find her headbanging at a death metal gig, shredding a rock song on the drums, or filming a horror movie with her Canon 6D Mark II.