Decade of the Juvenile Justice Act (2015): A Judicial Review and Strategic Reassessment

As India marks ten years of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the Supreme Court, in strategic collaboration with UNICEF, has organized a national-level consultation on October 10-11, 2026. This review is critical to assess the legislative intent of the Act—which shifted from a welfare-oriented approach to a more nuanced framework addressing heinous crimes committed by juveniles aged 16-18—against the backdrop of contemporary socio-legal realities. The 2015 Act was a watershed moment in Indian jurisprudence, introduced in the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, balancing the constitutional mandate for juvenile protection with the demand for retributive justice in extreme cases. However, ten years later, several implementation challenges remain. These include the systemic delays in the functioning of Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs), the quality of infrastructure in Child Care Institutions (CCIs), and the need for standardized capacity-building for social workers and legal professionals involved in the process. Furthermore, the role of child-friendly mechanisms, such as Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPUs), remains inconsistent across states, raising questions about the uniformity of the justice delivery system.