Full Breakdown
India Marks a Decade of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
By Drooid · · How we work
Inauguration of the National Stakeholders Consultation
On October 10, 2026, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant opened a two-day National Annual Stakeholders Consultation in New Delhi. A valedictory session is scheduled for October 11, 2026.
Background and Context
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 presumes anyone under 18 lacks criminal intent, favors diversion from formal criminal proceedings, and emphasizes counselling, community service and probation over confinement. The Act draws on Articles 15(3) and 39 of the Constitution and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Data and Statistics on Implementation
- An India Justice Report study (Nov 2025) found that for the year ending Oct 2023, 55 percent of cases before Juvenile Justice Boards in 18 states and two Union Territories remained pending.
- More than 55,000 children were awaiting decisions; of 100,904 cases before 362 Boards, 45,097 had been disposed of.
- 24 percent of responding Boards (111 of 470) operated without the full bench of a principal magistrate and two social-worker members.
- The NALSA child-friendly legal-services scheme of 2024 provides for a lawyer at police stations and a legal-services clinic at each Board, yet many Boards still lack such clinics.
Official Statements & Responses
Chief Justice Kant stressed that “child in conflict with law” describes a circumstance, not an identity, and warned that digital records can create lasting stigma. He called for timely destruction of old records and for rehabilitation that restores a child’s place in family, school and community. Kant also urged the creation of dedicated defence-counsel wings so each child has a single lawyer from the police station through rehabilitation.
Justice B. V. She highlighted the need for better data, stronger institutions and child-sensitive adjudication.
UNICEF India’s country representative Cynthia McCaffrey reaffirmed the partnership with the judiciary to secure child-friendly procedures and divert young people from formal penal processes. UNICEF’s chief of child protection Milen Kidane and Ministry of Women and Child Development Secretary Anil Malik delivered remarks on safeguarding children’s rights.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We cannot be dismissive of their concerns, lest they feel alienated and rejected," she said, adding, "All children are ours and their distress is ours too".” — V. Nagarathna
- “We must destroy old records on time and keep the names of children in conflict with the law out of the news and off the internet, where they can linger for years.” — Surya Kant
Implementation Challenges and Priorities
Stakeholders identified gaps: insufficient legal-services clinics, incomplete bench composition, and the need for privacy-respecting evaluations of reintegration outcomes such as school re-enrollment and employment. The consultation released an e-compendium of landmark Supreme Court and high-court judgments spanning 2015 to September 2026 to guide future reforms.
What’s Next
The consultation will conclude on October 11, 2026, after technical sessions reviewing safeguards, child-protection machinery and non-institutional alternative care across six states and Union Territories. Participants are expected to leave with at least one practice to adopt in their jurisdictions.