Child in Conflict with Law and Role of JJ Act in India

Manikanta Chowdary Veerapaneni

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.88141

Child in Conflict with Law and Role of JJ Act in India

Author(s)	Mr. Manikanta Chowdary Veerapaneni
Country	India
Abstract	Children are one of the most vulnerable sections of any society. Issues pertaining to crimes committed by children, need to be analyzed bearing in mind their physical, psychological, emotional, intellectual and developmental characteristics. In India, reference to juvenile delinquent has gradually being replaced with the more child centred phrase 'child in conflict with the law' (CCL). This terminology acknowledges the child as an individual whose behaviour has unfortunately resulted in confrontation with the judicial system as opposed to a per se offender. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 governs the care of those children accused or found guilty of an offence, the same in tandem tries to harmonise the goals of rehabilitation and social reintegration with accountability and safety to society. This paper aims to explore the magnitude of juvenile delinquency in the country, the various reasons contributing to juvenile offending that span socio-economic, familial, psychological as well as environmental factors; and the legislative reforms enacted overtime in this field. The working of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), the legal principles guiding every action related to an CCL, the detention and bail provisions, Rehabilitation efforts, special procedure for heinous offenses for children in the age group of 16-18 years have been looked into in detail. Chapter XV of the 2015 Act and the preliminary inquiry mechanism would be dealt with. The paper also gives an insight into relevant judicial pronouncements such as Gopinath Ghosh v. State of West Bengal; Sheela Barse v. Union of India; Salil Bali v. Union of India; Shilpa Mittal v. State (NCT of Delhi); Sampurna Behrua v. Union of India; Barun Chandra Thakur v. Master Bholu, along with analysis of NCRB data for recorded crimes committed by children, to highlight major trends. A broader framework through the International child rights approach via the Convention on the Rights of the child will also be examined in part. This study finds that adolescent crime is multifaceted and cannot be solely due to an individual's 'moral failure'; it can be compounded due to dysfunctional families, peer influences, exclusion in schools, poverty, drug abuse, exploitation and marginalization.
Keywords	Juvenile justice; child in conflict with law; juvenile delinquency; Juvenile Justice Act, 2015; Juvenile Justice Board; rehabilitation; Section 15; preliminary assessment; child rights; restorative justice; social reintegration.
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-09-21
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.88141

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Child in Conflict with Law and Role of JJ Act in India

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