JUVENILE JUSTICE IN INDIA: BALANCING REHABILITATION AND PUNISHMENT UNDER THE JUVENILE JUSTICE (CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN) ACT, 2015
AUTHOR – JOSHUA SD* & JISHA JS**
* STUDENT AT VELS INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & ADVANCED STUDIES (VISTAS)
** ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT SCHOOL OF LAW, VELS INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ADVANCED STUDIES (VISTAS)
BEST CITATION – JOSHUA SD & JISHA JS, JUVENILE JUSTICE IN INDIA: BALANCING REHABILITATION AND PUNISHMENT UNDER THE JUVENILE JUSTICE (CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN) ACT, 2015, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (8) OF 2026, PG. 454-462, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.
ABSTRACT
India’s juvenile justice system stands at a constitutional and sociological crossroads. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 [1] seeks to rehabilitate children who come into conflict with the law while simultaneously responding to growing public concern over serious offences committed by juveniles aged 16 to 18. This article undertakes a doctrinal and socio-legal analysis of the tension between two foundational principles — rehabilitative justice and punitive accountability — within India’s juvenile justice framework. Drawing on constitutional provisions, landmark judgments including Sheela Barse v. Union of India, Pratap Singh v. State of Jharkhand, and Mukesh v. State (NCT of Delhi), NCRB data,[2] and comparative international standards, the article critically evaluates the provisions for preliminary assessment and adult-trial transfer introduced by the 2015 Act. It identifies five structural challenges — inadequate institutional infrastructure, inconsistent implementation, the indeterminate nature of maturity assessment, victim justice deficit, and post-release recidivism — and proposes a balanced reform framework centred on restorative justice, neurodevelopmentally informed assessment, and robust aftercare.
Keywords: juvenile justice, rehabilitation, punishment, JJ Act 2015, doli incapax, preliminary assessment, restorative justice, juvenile delinquency, India
[1]Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 (India), Preamble.
[2]National Crime Records Bureau, ‘Crime in India 2022’ (NCRB 2023) Table 10A (reflecting 31,170 cases registered against juveniles in 2022).