Online Legal Advice from Insaaf99® Online Lawyer Consultation in India
Online Legal Advice from Insaaf99® Online Lawyer Consultation in India
Kids have a special position in any country's laws and India is no different. Juvenile law in India is based on the principle that when a child commits an offence, he is not a criminal to be punished, but a person to be corrected, rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society. The initial piece of legislation in this framework is the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 which succeeded its predecessor of 2000 and brought in some major changes such as the provisions of trying many juveniles as adults for heinous crimes.
About 472 million people are under the age of 18 in India. In this context, juvenile justice is far from being a marginal issue, but it is a major area of concern relating to child rights, criminal law, social welfare, and the rights to constitutional protection. In this article we will explain the juvenile law in India.
Legal Definition
In Indian law, a juvenile is someone under the age of 18. This definition has been provided in Section 2(35) of Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, which corresponds with that of United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to which India is a signatory.
A juvenile crime is defined as an act or omission which is an offence under any law in force by a person who has not reached 18 years. The law is different for a child in conflict with the law (a child alleged to have committed an offence) and for a child in need of care and protection (a child who may be a victim, an orphan or a child in exploitative circumstances).
The age limit has been different in the past. Children under the age of 15 were covered by the Apprentices Act, 1850, and different age cutting points were established at state level. The standardisation at 18 years was introduced by the JJ Act 2000 and continued in 2015 but with the proviso that if a person of age 16 to 18 is accused of a heinous offence, he will be considered for trial as an adult.
| Category | Definition | Punishment Range | Examples |
| Petty Offences | Offences punishable with imprisonment up to 3 years | Maximum 3 years | Petty theft, trespass, minor mischief |
| Petty theft, trespass, minor mischief | Offences punishable with imprisonment between 3 and 7 years | 3–7 years | Assault causing grievous hurt, robbery |
| Heinous Offences | Offences punishable with imprisonment of 7 years or more | 7 years or more | Murder, rape, dacoity, kidnapping |
The Act divides offences made by children into three types with varying legal penalties. If the offence is petty or minor, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) will have exclusive jurisdiction and will aim towards rehabilitation. The JJB will hold a preliminary assessment of the child's age and circumstances in conjunction with a psychologist and social expert to decide if the child should be tried as an adult in the Children's Court for a serious offence by a child aged 16–18.
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) records show that the youth are picked up on various types of crimes. Some of the commonly reported categories are:
Theft/property crimes: These remain the top reported crimes and are usually associated with poverty and peer influence.
Assault and hurt: Physical violence, especially among adolescent males, rates are high in urban crime statistics.
Sexual offences: Sexual offences against juveniles have gained more attention in law and society after the Nirbhaya case and the introduction of POCSO Act, 2012.
Offences under special laws: These include offences relating to drugs under the NDPS Act and cybercrimes — a relatively new category because of increasing access to the internet by young people.
The juveniles aged 16-18 years have always been the major group of juvenile apprehensions and the number of male juveniles is much higher than the number of female juveniles as indicated in NCRB data. The majority of children who are caught are below the poverty line or from an educationally deprived background.
Juvenile Delinquency in India is a multifaceted problem. There are numerous interconnected factors that can lead to a child's involvement in crime.
Socio-economic factors: Poverty continues to be the single most important factor. Some economically disadvantaged children may be tempted to steal or resort to begging in order to survive. The lack of access to quality education exacerbates the situation.
Family Environment: Children's emotional vulnerability when their home is broken, domestic violence is present, both or one parent were neglected or the child is an orphan. Without consistent parenting, a child is at greater risk of being anti-social.
Delinquent peers (in slums, low-income neighbourhoods, and online) are associated with increased likelihood of criminal behaviour among children, and can have a strong influence on their peers.
Media and Technology: Being exposed to violence in film, social media and/or video games, without proper supervision and media literacy, has been cited as a factor in crimes involving aggression and/or sexual misconduct.
Psychological: Mental health problems that have not been addressed, abuse or neglect in the past, and personality disorders can be expressed in delinquent behavior. Lack of mental health infrastructure in India, particularly in the rural areas, has resulted in the majority of children in conflict with law not having been diagnosed or treated.
India's approach to juvenile justice has evolved considerably over more than 170 years.
| Legislation | Year | Key Feature |
| Apprentices Act | 1850 | First law addressing juvenile offenders; focused on child labour and skill training |
| Reformatory Schools Act | 1897 | Established reformatory schools for convicted juvenile offenders |
| Children Acts (State-level) | 1960s–1980s | State-specific legislation; lacked uniformity |
| Juvenile Justice Act | 1986 | The act defined a juvenile as a boy under the age of 16 and a girl under the age of 18. |
| JJ (Care and Protection) Act | 2000 | Unified age at 18; aligned with UNCRC; established JJBs and CCIs |
| JJ (Care and Protection) Act | 2015 | Added heinous offence category; allowed trial of 16–18 as adults; strengthened adoption law |
The 2015 Act was the direct legislative response to the public outcry following the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, where one of the accused was a juvenile just short of 18 years and received the maximum permissible sentence of three years in a reform home.
Children in conflict with the law are dealt with by the Juvenile Justice Board as the main adjudicating authority. Each district must have at least one JJB as mandated under Section 4 of the JJ Act, 2015.
JJB structure: The JJB comprises of a Metropolitan Magistrate, or Judicial Magistrate of the First Class and two social workers (one of whom is to be a woman) experienced in dealing with children matters.
Key Powers and Functions:
The JJB has four months' (up to six months') time to complete its inquiry. Their proceedings are conducted in a non-adversarial and child friendly way, different to ordinary criminal courts.
The brutal gang rape and death of a young woman in Delhi on 16 December 2012 has had a significant impact on the public's perception of juvenile justice in India. One of the six accused was 17 years and six months old when the offence was committed, which—in line with the law at the time—made him legally a juvenile. He was sent to a Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) for trial and found guilty with a three-year sentence, the maximum allowed by the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000. He was released in December 2015.
In Mukesh & Anr v. State for NCT of Delhi (2017), the Supreme Court confirmed the death penalty for the adult convicts and also recognised the shortcomings of juvenile law in the case of extreme brutality. The public anger against the relatively mild punishment for the juvenile was a direct spur to the enactment of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The most important change in the Act — enabling 16 to 18-year-old child to be tried as an adult for the "heinous offence" following a preliminary assessment — was directly brought about by this case.
Essa vs State of Maharashtra, 2013: The honorable Supreme Court had clarified that the date to determine the status of the accused as Juvenile would be the date of commission of the offence and not the date of his/her trial or sentencing. This is the rule for those children who are over the age of the juvenile system in a lengthy trial.
Jitendra Singh @ Babboo Singh v. State of U.P. (2013): The Court reiterated that the plea of juvenile could be taken at any point of the proceedings, even before the Supreme Court and it would be considered even after the conviction.
In Sher Singh @ Sheru v. State of U.P. (2016): The burden on the state to prove prima facie case will be shifted where it is in stress of interpretation of the provisions of juvenile law and for conviction.
Ram Prasad Sahu v. State of Bihar, 1979 – The basic philosophy of Juvenile Justice System is reformative and not punitive.
India's Constitution provides a robust framework of protections for children that underpin the juvenile justice system.
| Article | Provision |
| Article 14 | Equality before law — children cannot be discriminated against |
| Article 15(3) | Permits special provisions for children |
| Article 21 | Right to life and personal liberty — includes right to live with dignity |
| Article 21A | Right to free and compulsory education for children aged 6–14 |
| Article 24 | Prohibition of employment of children in factories and hazardous jobs |
| Article 39(e) & (f) | State to direct its policy to protect children from exploitation |
| Article 45 | Early childhood care and education for children below 6 years |
| Article 47 | Duty of the State to raise the standard of living and public health |
Insaaf99 is an online legal consultancy service that links people with skilled legal professionals for legal counsel on juvenile law issues. Insaaf99 assists families with their legal rights and options if their child is facing a charge, needs legal protection, or is subject to the Juvenile Justice Board. You can easily consult the online for legal advice, case analysis, paperwork assistance, and representation guidelines. Insaaf99 is helping parents / guardians in understanding the Juvenile Justice Act and how to assist the child in their rights, welfare, rehabilitation and future to be protected.
Juvenile law in India consider that a child who commits an offence is first a child and after that an offender. The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 has tried to strike a balance between compassion and accountability, especially in the contexts of the times when young offenders have committed serious crimes. The conflict between the rehabilitative ideal and the call for retributive justice for gruesome crimes is unsolved and will still be a challenge on the legislature, judiciary and society.
To ensure effective reform, systems need to be put in place to prevent children entering the justice system in the first place, by investing in quality education, mental health services, poverty alleviation, and child protection.
FAQs
Q1. What is juvenile law in India?
Ans: Juvenile law governs offenders below 18 years, focusing on rehabilitation and reform under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Q2. What is the age limit for a juvenile in India?
Ans: A juvenile is any person below 18 years of age under the JJ Act, 2015.
Q3. Can a juvenile be tried as an adult in India?
Ans: Yes. A child aged 16–18 accused of a heinous offence may be tried as an adult after assessment by the Juvenile Justice Board.
Q4. What are heinous offences under the Juvenile Justice Act?
Ans: Heinous offences are crimes punishable with a minimum imprisonment of seven years or more, such as murder and rape.
