JJ Act at ten: CJI seeks trained defence lawyers for children and stigma-free records
Ten years on, over half the cases before Juvenile Justice Boards are pending. What went wrong?
Published 11 October 2026. Written by Pratidin from the reports linked at the end; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work
On 10 October 2026, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant inaugurated a two-day National Annual Stakeholders' Consultation titled "Ten Years of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015: Progress, Challenges and Priorities for the Next Decade". It was organised at the Supreme Court by its Juvenile Justice Committee, chaired by Justice B.V. Nagarathna, with UNICEF. The CJI released an e-compendium of landmark judgments under the Act. He said the phrase "child in conflict with law" describes "a circumstance, not an identity", and that the answer to such cases is "restoration, not retribution". He closed with: "For ten years we have counted cases. For the next ten years let us also count the lives we have helped rebuild."
The CJI asked legal services institutions to consider a separate wing of trained defence counsel for children, with the same lawyer from the first hour at the police station through rehabilitation. This would build on the National Legal Services Authority's Child Friendly Legal Services Scheme, 2024, which provides a lawyer at the police station and a legal services clinic at every Juvenile Justice Board, though he noted many Boards still lack a clinic. He sought joint training of police, probation officers and Board members with psychologists, more probation officers, individual care plans that work beyond paper, community service as an alternative to confinement, timely destruction of old records, and keeping children's names out of the news and off the internet.
Justice Nagarathna cited the India Justice Report of November 2025, covering the year to October 2023 in 18 States and two Union Territories. Of 1,00,904 cases before 362 Boards, only 45,097 had been disposed of, leaving 55% pending and over 55,000 children awaiting decisions. About 24% of responding Boards, 111 of 470, worked without a full bench of a principal magistrate and two social worker members. She said a Board is not meant to be a "miniature criminal court". The 2015 Act, which replaced the Juvenile Justice Act of 2000, allows children aged 16 to 18 accused of heinous offences to be tried as adults after a preliminary assessment, a provision that was debated when the law was passed.
Prelims facts
- The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 replaced the Act of 2000; it passed the Lok Sabha on 7 May 2015 and the Rajya Sabha on 22 December 2015.
- A Juvenile Justice Board has a Metropolitan or Judicial Magistrate with at least three years' experience as Principal Magistrate and two social workers, at least one a woman.
- Children aged 16 to 18 accused of heinous offences can be sent to a Children's Court (a court under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 or a POCSO Special Court, or else the Court of Session) after a preliminary assessment by the Board.
- Per the India Justice Report (November 2025), 55% of cases before Juvenile Justice Boards were pending and 111 of 470 responding Boards lacked a full bench.
- The 2021 amendment shifted the power to issue adoption orders from civil courts to District Magistrates.
Quick recall
- Who chairs the Supreme Court's Juvenile Justice Committee?
- Justice B.V. Nagarathna.
- With which agency did the Committee hold the JJ Act ten-year consultation?
- UNICEF.
- Composition of a Juvenile Justice Board?
- A Metropolitan or Judicial Magistrate (Principal Magistrate) with at least three years' experience, and two social workers, at least one a woman.
- Which section of the JJ Act, 2015 constitutes Juvenile Justice Boards?
- Section 4.
- Which court tries a 16 to 18 year old for a heinous offence after transfer?
- The Children's Court: a court under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 or a POCSO Special Court, or, where none is designated, the Court of Session.
- Which 2020 Supreme Court case led to the 2021 change in how 'serious offences' are defined?
- Shilpa Mittal v. State of NCT of Delhi.
- Share of cases pending before Juvenile Justice Boards, per the India Justice Report (November 2025)?
- 55%, with over 55,000 children awaiting decisions.
- What does NALSA's Child Friendly Legal Services Scheme, 2024 provide?
- A lawyer at the police station and a legal services clinic at every Juvenile Justice Board.
Prelims practice question
With reference to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, consider the following statements:
1. A Juvenile Justice Board includes two social workers, at least one of whom must be a woman.
2. A child aged 16 to 18 alleged to have committed a heinous offence may be tried as an adult after a preliminary assessment.
3. After the 2021 amendment, adoption orders are issued by the Child Welfare Committee.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only. Statement 1 is correct under Section 4. Statement 2 is correct: the Board makes a preliminary assessment and may transfer the case to a Children's Court. Statement 3 is wrong: the 2021 amendment gave the power to issue adoption orders to District Magistrates, including Additional District Magistrates.
Use this in UPSC Mains: previous-year questions
Recurring theme: Laws and institutions for the protection of vulnerable sections, including children
- How to use this
Use the JJ Act at ten as an example of a protective law whose machinery exists but underperforms in implementation.
- Per the India Justice Report (November 2025), 55% of 1,00,904 cases before 362 Juvenile Justice Boards were pending.
- 111 of 470 responding Boards lacked a full bench; many lacked the legal clinic promised by NALSA's 2024 scheme.
- The CJI urged independent evaluation of outcomes such as return to school and work, not just case counts.
Child rights bodies and the digital era meet in the CJI's call to keep the names of children in conflict with law off the internet.
Mains practice question
Ten years after the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, the gap between its rehabilitative promise and its implementation remains wide. Examine the main gaps and suggest reforms. (250 words)
Model answer
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 aimed to treat children in conflict with law through care and rehabilitation. At its ten-year review on 10 October 2026, the CJI called for "restoration, not retribution".
The promise
- Juvenile Justice Boards (a Principal Magistrate and two social workers, one a woman) instead of criminal courts.
- Child Welfare Committees in every district for children in need of care.
- Children aged 16 to 18 accused of heinous offences tried as adults only after a preliminary assessment.
Gaps in implementation
- Pendency: per the India Justice Report (November 2025), 55% of 1,00,904 cases before 362 Boards were pending; over 55,000 children awaited decisions.
- Incomplete Boards: 111 of 470 responding Boards lacked a full bench.
- Legal aid: NALSA's 2024 scheme promises a clinic at every Board, but many lack one.
- Few probation officers and individual care plans that stay on paper.
- Stigma: names and records that follow children online.
Reforms
- A separate wing of trained defence counsel for children, one lawyer from the police station to rehabilitation.
- Joint training of police, probation officers and Board members with psychologists.
- Community service and counselling as alternatives to confinement, backed by school and skilling networks.
- Timely destruction of records and strict privacy for children's identities.
- Independent evaluation of outcomes such as return to school and jobs.
Conclusion
As Justice Nagarathna put it, "When a child breaks the law, the law must not break the child"; the next decade must measure lives rebuilt, not just cases closed.
The basics
Why this matters
How a country treats children who break the law says a lot about what it believes justice is for. India's answer, since 2016, is the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. Its idea is simple: a child in trouble with the law is still a child, and the goal is to bring that child back, not to punish. Ten years on, the review at the Supreme Court showed how far practice lags behind that idea.
Two kinds of children, one law
The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 covers two groups. "Children in conflict with law" are those alleged to have committed an offence; they go before a Juvenile Justice Board. "Children in need of care and protection" are those who are abandoned, abused or at risk; they go before a Child Welfare Committee in each district.
- 1Juvenile Justice BoardDecides cases of children in conflict with law; a Principal Magistrate and two social workers.
- 2Child Welfare CommitteeDecides on care and protection of children at risk, in every district.
- 3Children's CourtA CPCR Act court, a POCSO Special Court or else the Court of Session, which may try 16 to 18 year olds for heinous offences after preliminary assessment.
- 4Probation officersPrepare social investigation reports and follow up after a child returns home.
- 5Legal servicesNALSA's 2024 scheme: a lawyer at the police station and a clinic at every Board.
The hardest question: 16 to 18
The 2015 law allowed children aged 16 to 18 accused of heinous offences to be tried as adults after a Preliminary assessment for heinous offences. When the Bill was debated, PRS noted concerns that this may conflict with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which treats every person under 18 as a child.
What the numbers show
What the CJI proposed
The CJI's main idea was continuity: one trained lawyer for the child from the first hour to rehabilitation, building on the Child Friendly Legal Services Scheme, 2024. He also asked for joint training, more probation officers, community service instead of confinement, and timely destruction of records so that a child's past does not follow them online.
Go deeper
In one line: At a Supreme Court consultation on 10 October 2026 marking ten years of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, the CJI called for restoration over retribution, a dedicated wing of child defence lawyers and stigma-free records.
Why it matters for UPSC
GS2 asks about laws and institutions for vulnerable sections and about the performance of such laws. This review gives you fresh data on pendency and Board vacancies, and a clear reform agenda from the judiciary itself.
The core idea
The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 treats children who offend as children first. Cases go to a Juvenile Justice Board, not a criminal court. Only for heinous offences by 16 to 18 year olds can a Preliminary assessment for heinous offences send a child to an adult-style trial. Legal aid is meant to come through NALSA's Child Friendly Legal Services Scheme, 2024. The review found that the structure exists on paper but is thin in practice.
Numbers and dates to remember
- 10 October 2026: consultation opens; e-compendium of judgments released.
- 1,00,904 cases before 362 Boards; 45,097 disposed of; 55% pending.
- 111 of 470 responding Boards lacked a full bench (about 24%).
- 7 May 2015 (Lok Sabha) and 22 December 2015 (Rajya Sabha): JJ Bill passed.
- 2021: adoption orders moved to District Magistrates.
Where to go next
- Juvenile Justice Act, 2015: the law, its two categories of children and its 2021 changes.
- Juvenile Justice Board: who sits on it and what it must do.
- Preliminary assessment for heinous offences: the contested 16 to 18 rule.
- Child Friendly Legal Services Scheme, 2024: NALSA's legal aid design for children.
Go deeper: rehabilitation on paper versus in practice
Pendency. A Board is meant to decide quickly, because delay itself harms a child. Yet the India Justice Report found 55% of cases pending. Justice Nagarathna said a Board is not a "miniature criminal court", but long, adversarial delays make it behave like one. The Juvenile Justice Board also needs its full composition: 111 of 470 responding Boards lacked it.
Legal aid. The Child Friendly Legal Services Scheme, 2024 promises a lawyer at the police station and a clinic at every Board. The CJI said many Boards still lack a clinic. His proposal of one trained lawyer from the first hour to rehabilitation addresses a common failure: different lawyers at each stage, none of whom knows the child.
The 16 to 18 debate. Supporters of the 2015 change argued that older adolescents who commit heinous crimes should face tougher consequences. Critics, including concerns recorded by PRS, argued that it conflicts with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and with the reformative purpose of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. The Preliminary assessment for heinous offences is the safeguard, but it depends on trained psychologists and good social investigation reports.
Stigma and privacy. The CJI asked that names be kept off the internet and old records destroyed on time: "The journey truly ends only when the past no longer casts a shadow over the future."
For an answer: Frame gaps as capacity (Boards, probation officers), process (pendency, legal aid) and outcome (no tracking of return to school or work), then give the CJI's reforms.
Juvenile Justice Act, 2015
The law itself: two categories of children and the 2021 changes.
In one line: The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 governs children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection, and replaced the Act of 2000.
Key features
It sets up Juvenile Justice Boards for children alleged to have offended and Child Welfare Committees in each district for children in need of care. It allows children aged 16 to 18 to be tried as adults for heinous offences after an assessment. It lays down adoption procedures and penalties for cruelty to children, giving them narcotics, and abduction or sale of children.
Passage
Introduced in the Lok Sabha on 12 August 2014, passed by the Lok Sabha on 7 May 2015 and by the Rajya Sabha on 22 December 2015.
The 2021 amendment
It moved adoption orders from civil courts to District Magistrates, with appeal to the Divisional Commissioner. It also redefined serious offences after Shilpa Mittal (2020).
Where to go next
Juvenile Justice Board
Who sits on it, and why so many are incomplete.
In one line: A Juvenile Justice Board, set up under Section 4 of the JJ Act, 2015, decides cases of children alleged to have committed offences.
Composition
The State Government constitutes one or more Boards for every district. Each has a Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate of First Class with at least three years' experience as the Principal Magistrate, and two social workers, at least one of whom is a woman.
Functions
It protects the child's rights through apprehension, inquiry, aftercare and rehabilitation, ensures legal aid, and must inspect residential facilities for children at least once a month.
Why it is in the news
The India Justice Report found 111 of 470 responding Boards without a full bench and 55% of cases pending.
Where to go next
Preliminary assessment for heinous offences
The contested rule for 16 to 18 year olds.
In one line: Under Section 15 of the JJ Act, 2015, when a child aged 16 to 18 is alleged to have committed a heinous offence, the Board first assesses the child before deciding whether the case should go to a Children's Court.
How it works
The Board conducts a preliminary assessment. If it decides the child should be tried as an adult, it can transfer the case to a Children's Court (a court under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 or a POCSO Special Court, or else the Court of Session). Otherwise the child stays within the Board's rehabilitative process.
The debate
When the Bill was examined, PRS recorded concerns that this may conflict with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which treats every child under 18 alike, and raise questions under Articles 14, 20(1) and 21. The Standing Committee also said the Bill relied on misleading data on juvenile crime.
Where to go next
Child Friendly Legal Services Scheme, 2024
NALSA's design for legal aid to children, and its gaps.
In one line: A 2024 scheme of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to give children dedicated legal aid within the juvenile justice system.
What it provides
A lawyer available to the child at the police station, and a legal services clinic at every Juvenile Justice Board.
The gap
At the 10 October 2026 consultation, the CJI said many Boards still do not have a clinic.
The proposed next step
The CJI asked legal services institutions to consider a separate wing of trained defence counsel for children, so that one lawyer stays with the child from the first hour at the police station through rehabilitation. He also said children must be not only heard but understood during legal aid.
Where to go next
Take the 11 October 2026 quiz: 24 Prelims-style questions with answers