Ten Years of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015: Supreme Court Consultation Calls for Restoration, Not Retribution
On 10 October 2026, the Supreme Court's Juvenile Justice Committee, with UNICEF, held a two-day National Annual Stakeholders Consultation titled "Ten Years of the JJ Act: Progress, Challenges and Priorities for the Next Decade". It marks ten years of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which came into force in January 2016.
The Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, inaugurated the event and released an e-Compendium of landmark judgments under the Act. He said ten years is a short time for a law, but more than half of a childhood.
He said the term "child in conflict with law" describes a circumstance, not an identity. He added that the response to such children should be restoration (helping them rebuild their lives) rather than retribution (punishment for its own sake), and that this does not mean ignoring the harm done.
Suggestions made at the event included: joint training for police, Juvenile Justice Boards and probation officers; filling vacant probation officer posts; trained defence lawyers from the first hour at the police station; enforceable individual care plans; timely destruction of records; and keeping children's names out of the news and off the internet.
Data cited at the event from the India Justice Report (November 2025) showed that in the year ending October 2023, 362 Juvenile Justice Boards had 1,00,904 cases before them and disposed of only 45,097, so about 55% were pending. 111 of 470 responding Boards (about 24%) did not have their full set of members.
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, usually called the JJ Act, is India's main law for children below 18 years of age who either need protection or are accused of breaking the law. Its core idea is simple: a child is still growing, so the law should try to correct, care for and bring the child back into society, not just punish. The Act sets up special bodies, such as Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees, so that children do not go through the normal adult criminal courts and jails.
The Supreme Court's consultation marked ten years of this Act and took stock of how it works in practice. The CJI's point that "child in conflict with law" describes a circumstance and not an identity reflects the Act's own choice to call every person under 18 a "child", and its rules on privacy (Section 74) and a fresh start (Section 24). The pendency and vacancy data shared at the event show the gap between the law's design and its working on the ground.
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, or UNCRC, is an international treaty that lists the rights every child in the world should have. These include the right to life, a name, education, health, protection from abuse and exploitation, and the right to be heard. A country that joins it promises to make its laws and policies match these rights. It is the most widely accepted human rights treaty in history.
The CJI noted that the JJ Act, 2015 draws on Articles 15(3) and 39 of the Constitution and on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention's ideas of the best interests of the child, privacy at every stage and reintegration into society are exactly what the consultation's suggestions aim to put into practice, from keeping names off the internet to measuring lives rebuilt.
- Event: National Annual Stakeholders Consultation, "Ten Years of the JJ Act: Progress, Challenges and Priorities for the Next Decade", 10 October 2026, Supreme Court
- Organisers: Supreme Court's Juvenile Justice Committee (headed by Justice B.V. Nagarathna) with UNICEF
- JJ Act, 2015 in force since 15 January 2016
- India Justice Report (November 2025), year ending October 2023: 1,00,904 cases before 362 JJBs; 45,097 disposed; about 55% pending
- 111 of 470 responding JJBs (about 24%) lacked a full bench
- NALSA child-friendly legal services scheme (2024): lawyer at police station and legal clinic at every JJB
- JJB = Principal Magistrate + 2 social workers (at least 1 woman)
- 16-18 year olds accused of heinous offences: preliminary assessment within 3 months (Section 15)
- India acceded to the UNCRC on 11 December 1992