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More than fractional (55%) of the cases earlier 362 Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) remained pending arsenic of October 31, 2023, also while 92% of 765 districts successful India person constituted JJBs, the authorization dealing with Children successful Conflict with Law, the pendency complaint varies widely, from 83% successful Odisha to 35% successful Karnataka, noted a first-of-its-kind survey ‘Juvenile Justice and Children successful Conflict with the Law: A Study of Capacity astatine the Frontlines’, by the India Justice Report (IJR) released connected Thursday (November 20, 2025).
Unlike the National Judicial Data Grid, determination is nary Central and nationalist repository of accusation connected JJBs. For the study, the IJR filed much than 250 RTI requests and responses from 21 States, revealing that arsenic of October 31, 2023, JJBs had lone disposed of little than fractional the 1,00,904 cases.
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Additionally, vacancies successful the juvenile justness strategy (24% of the JJBs were not afloat constituted), and inadequate ineligible assistance (30% JJBs bash not person an attached ineligible services clinic) person led to precocious workload successful important functions.
On an average, 154 cases remained pending with each JJB annually. Additionally, inadequate information monitoring and funds person created terrible constraints successful the implementation of juvenile justice.
According to 2023 Crime successful India data, 40,036 juveniles were apprehended successful 31,365 cases nether the Indian Penal Code and Special and Local Laws successful India. More than 3 successful 4 of the children progressive were betwixt 16 and 18 years of age.
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In a decennary since the passing of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015, the IJR survey finds that the decentralised architecture meant to present child-centric services suffers from systemic gaps, including a deficiency of inter-agency coordination and data-sharing.
The IJR survey framed 16 questions connected the capableness of the juvenile justness strategy to 4 nodal agencies i.e., State constabulary headquarters, the Department of Women and Child Development, State Child Protection Society (SCPS) and the State Legal Services Authority (SLSA).
More than 500 responses were received from 28 States and 2 UTs, covering 530 districts. Of these 500 responses, 11% were rejected outright, 24% received nary reply astatine all, 29% were transferred to districts, and 36% were provided by State nodal authorities, indicating a anemic civilization of nationalist information transportation and transparency.
Maja Daruwala, main editor, India Justice Report, said: “The specially designed juvenile justness strategy is pyramidal successful structure. Its optimal functioning relies connected accusation flowing regularly from archetypal responders astatine idiosyncratic institutions specified arsenic constabulary stations and attraction institutions upwards into overseeing authorities astatine the district, State, and nationalist level. Yet, the IJR’s efforts astatine accessing reliable information from crossed the committee grounds that authorised oversight bodies neither person it routinely nor importune connected it. Scattered and irregular information makes supervision episodic and accountability hollow.”
Added Justice Madan B. Lokur, erstwhile Judge, Supreme Court of India: “IJR’s survey exposes the gaps successful our Juvenile Justice system. Despite the transition of 10 years since the implementation of the JJ Act, 2015, it is worrying to find that a 4th of JJBs did not person a afloat Bench and grounds of a important fig of unit vacancies successful kid attraction institutions. This has a detrimental effect connected children who autumn nether its purview.’’ He further said the inadequate and patchy information from RTIs is concerning.
“It is indispensable that a child-centric National Data Grid integrates accusation connected the functioning of the juvenile justness strategy and that each authorities progressive regularly people standardised information astir their functioning successful narration to children. Until the accusation spine is built and used, the strategy cannot genuinely service the champion interests of the child,” helium added.
