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—juvenile-justice-board-procedure-child-in-conflict-india [2026/08/01 00:55] (current) – created - external edit 127.0.0.1
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 +{{htmlmetatags>metatag-description=(When a minor is accused of a crime in India, the Juvenile Justice Board runs the case. See the 24-hour rule, bail, the inquiry clock and possible orders.)&metatag-keywords=(Juvenile Justice Board procedure, child in conflict with law, minor accused of crime India, juvenile justice act 2015, preliminary assessment heinous offence)&metatag-robots=(index,follow)&metatag-og:title=(Juvenile Justice Board Procedure: A Minor Accused of a Crime in India)&metatag-og:description=(When a minor is accused of a crime in India, the Juvenile Justice Board runs the case. See the 24-hour rule, bail, the inquiry clock and possible orders.)&metatag-og:type=(article)}}
 +
 +====== Juvenile Justice Board Procedure: When a Minor Is Accused in India ======
 +
 +
 +{{ :social:auto:juvenile-justice-board-procedure-child-in-conflict-india.png?direct&1200 |Juvenile Justice Board Procedure: When a Minor Is Accused in India — RTI Wiki}}
 +
 +Your 15-year-old is picked up by the police over a fight, and the phone call terrifies you. Under Indian law that case does not go to a regular criminal court. It goes to the Juvenile Justice Board, and the whole process is built to protect the child, not punish an adult.
 +
 +<WRAP info>
 +**Quick Reply:** A person below 18 is a child. When a child is accused of a crime, the Juvenile Justice Board handles the case, not an ordinary court. The child must be produced before the Board within 24 hours (section 10), is usually released on bail (section 12), and the inquiry must finish in about 4 to 6 months (section 14). This is under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
 +</WRAP>
 +
 +**Short on time?** Read the section below on the fork for a heinous offence by a child who has completed 16. That is the only path that can end in an adult trial. Every other case stays with the Board.
 +
 +===== Who counts as a child, and what the Board is =====
 +
 +A "child" is any person below 18 years of age (section 2(35) of the JJ Act, 2015). A child who is alleged to have committed an offence is called a "child in conflict with law" (section 2(13)).
 +
 +The Juvenile Justice Board is the special panel that deals with these cases. It is not a normal criminal court. It sits like a bench, includes a magistrate and two social workers, and follows a child-friendly procedure. A child is never tried alongside adults.
 +
 +The law sorts offences into three buckets, and the bucket decides the route:
 +
 +^ Type of offence ^ How the law defines it ^ How the Board handles it ^
 +| Petty | Punishable with up to 3 years of imprisonment | Summary proceedings (section 14(5)) |
 +| Serious | Punishable with 3 to 7 years of imprisonment | Summons-case procedure (section 14(5)) |
 +| Heinous | Minimum punishment of 7 years or more (section 2(33)) | Depends on the child's age (see the fork below) |
 +
 +===== Stage 1: the first 24 hours =====
 +
 +When the police apprehend a child, they cannot put the child in a lockup or a jail. The child must be placed in the care of the Special Juvenile Police Unit or the Child Welfare Police Officer.
 +
 +The child must be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board within 24 hours of being apprehended, not counting the time needed for the journey (section 10 of the JJ Act, 2015). If the Board is not sitting, the child can be produced before an individual member.
 +
 +Note: the police must also inform the parent or guardian and the probation officer as soon as the child is apprehended.
 +
 +===== Stage 2: bail is the rule, not the exception =====
 +
 +For a child, bail is the default. When a child in conflict with law is produced before the Board, the child shall be released on bail, with or without surety, or placed under the supervision of a probation officer or a fit person (section 12 of the JJ Act, 2015). This applies even if the offence is serious, and it overrides the [[/bail-non-bailable-offence-bnss-section-480-india|usual bail rules]] in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
 +
 +The Board can refuse bail only for narrow reasons. Bail may be denied if releasing the child would:
 +
 +  * bring the child into contact with known criminals, or
 +  * expose the child to moral, physical or psychological danger, or
 +  * defeat the ends of justice.
 +
 +Even then, the child is not sent to jail. The child goes to an observation home, never a police lockup.
 +
 +===== Stage 3: the Board inquiry and its clock =====
 +
 +The Board holds an inquiry, not a full adult trial. The clock is strict.
 +
 +  * The inquiry must be completed within 4 months from the date the child is first produced before the Board (section 14 of the JJ Act, 2015).
 +  * The Board can extend this by a maximum of 2 more months, for reasons it records in writing. So the outer limit for most cases is 6 months.
 +  * A preliminary assessment for a heinous offence (section 15) must be disposed of within 3 months.
 +
 +What happens if the clock runs out? For a petty offence, if the inquiry is still not finished even after the extended period, the proceedings stand terminated. For a serious or heinous offence, the case does not simply end. A further extension can be granted by the Chief Judicial Magistrate or the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.
 +
 +The route inside the inquiry depends on the offence (section 14(5)):
 +
 +  * Petty offence: summary proceedings.
 +  * Serious offence: summons-case procedure.
 +  * Heinous offence by a child below 16: treated like a serious offence, and it stays with the Board. There is no adult-trial route.
 +  * Heinous offence by a child who has completed 16: the case goes to a preliminary assessment under section 15.
 +
 +===== The fork: a heinous offence by a child who has completed 16 =====
 +
 +This is the only path that can lead to a child being tried as an adult, and it applies in one narrow situation: a heinous offence allegedly committed by a child who has completed 16 years of age.
 +
 +Here the Board first runs a preliminary assessment under section 15 of the JJ Act, 2015. The Board looks at the child's mental and physical capacity to commit the offence, the child's ability to understand the consequences, and the circumstances in which the offence was allegedly committed. It can take the help of psychologists, psycho-social workers or other experts.
 +
 +Important: the Act itself says, in an Explanation to section 15, that this preliminary assessment is not a trial. It only assesses the child's capacity to commit the offence. The child or the State can challenge the Board's order in appeal under section 101(2).
 +
 +If the Board decides the child should be tried as an adult, it transfers the case to the Children's Court (section 18(3) read with section 19). The Children's Court then decides for itself whether to:
 +
 +  - try the child as an adult and pass sentence, or
 +  - dispose of the case as the Board would, using the child-focused orders in section 18.
 +
 +So a 16-plus heinous case does not automatically mean an adult trial. Two authorities, the Board and then the Children's Court, must each apply their mind before that can happen.
 +
 +If a child is tried and convicted as an adult, the child is not sent straight to an ordinary jail. The child is kept in a "place of safety" until the age of 21, and only then may be transferred to jail. An individual care plan and a yearly follow-up apply throughout.
 +
 +===== What orders the Board can pass =====
 +
 +If the Board finds that the child did commit the offence, it does not hand down an adult sentence. For petty and serious offences at any age, and for a heinous offence by a child below 16, the Board can pass any of these orders under section 18 of the JJ Act, 2015:
 +
 +  * send the child home after advice or admonition and counselling;
 +  * order the child and parents to attend group counselling;
 +  * order the child to perform community service;
 +  * order the child or the parent to pay a fine;
 +  * release the child on probation of good conduct, in the care of a parent, guardian or fit person, on a bond, for up to 3 years;
 +  * release the child on probation of good conduct under the care of a fit facility, for up to 3 years;
 +  * send the child to a special home for up to 3 years.
 +
 +The Board can also add supportive conditions under section 18(2), such as attending school, joining a vocational or therapeutic centre, going through a de-addiction programme, or staying away from a particular place or person.
 +
 +Two hard limits protect every child. No child in conflict with law can be sentenced to death, and no child can be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of release (section 21 of the JJ Act, 2015).
 +
 +===== A worked example =====
 +
 +<WRAP center round box>
 +Suppose a 15-year-old boy in Nagpur is picked up after a scuffle that the police book as a serious offence. The Child Welfare Police Officer takes charge, and the boy is produced before the Juvenile Justice Board the next morning, within 24 hours (section 10). He is not sent to any lockup.
 +
 +At that first hearing his parents apply for bail. Because bail is the rule for a child, and there is no sign he would fall in with criminals or come to harm, the Board releases him on a bond in his father's care (section 12). He goes home the same day.
 +
 +Over the next few months the Board holds its inquiry. Since he is 15, even a heinous charge would stay with the Board, so there is no question of an adult trial. The inquiry wraps up within the 4-month window (section 14). The Board finds the matter proved but minor, and orders counselling, community service, and probation of good conduct for one year under his parents' care (section 18). His schooling continues, and there is no jail and no adult conviction on his record.
 +</WRAP>
 +
 +===== Get the records and the legal help you are entitled to =====
 +
 +A child in conflict with law has the right to [[/legal/free-legal-aid-nalsa|free legal aid]]. Ask the District Legal Services Authority for a lawyer at no cost.
 +
 +You can also use the Right to Information Act, 2005 to get [[/guide/applicant/best-rti-questions|records that a public authority holds]], such as the apprehension memo, the probation officer's report, or the observation home register. This is often the fastest way to see what the file actually says. Related: [[/ecourts/arrest-records-rti|arrest records and bail status]].
 +
 +  * Draft a clean records request in minutes with the [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/ai-rti-draft-app.html|AI RTI Drafter]].
 +  * If the reply dodges your question, test it with the [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/pio-reply-checker-app.html|PIO Reply Checker]].
 +  * If you get no reply within 30 days, build your next step with the [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/tools/first-appeal-app.html|First Appeal Builder]].
 +
 +For a plain-English guide to your rights and how RTI works alongside a case, read [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/book|The RTI Playbook]].
 +
 +===== Frequently asked questions =====
 +
 +==== At what age is a person treated as a child under this law? ====
 +Anyone below 18 years of age is a child (section 2(35) of the JJ Act, 2015). A child accused of an offence is called a child in conflict with law (section 2(13)). Age is counted on the date the offence was allegedly committed.
 +
 +==== Can a minor be kept in a police lockup or jail? ====
 +No. When the police apprehend a child, the child must be placed with the Special Juvenile Police Unit or the Child Welfare Police Officer and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board within 24 hours (section 10). A child is never held in a police lockup or an adult jail.
 +
 +==== Will my child get bail? ====
 +Usually yes. For a child, release on bail is the rule, with or without surety (section 12 of the JJ Act, 2015). The Board can refuse only if release would put the child among known criminals, expose the child to danger, or defeat the ends of justice. Even then, the child goes to an observation home, not jail.
 +
 +==== How long can the Board take to decide? ====
 +The inquiry must finish within 4 months of the child's first production, extendable by up to 2 more months for written reasons (section 14). A preliminary assessment in a heinous case must be disposed of within 3 months (section 15).
 +
 +==== When can a minor be tried as an adult? ====
 +Only in one situation: a heinous offence (minimum punishment 7 years or more) allegedly committed by a child who has completed 16 years. Even then, the Board must first run a preliminary assessment (section 15), and the Children's Court must separately decide to try the child as an adult (sections 18(3) and 19).
 +
 +==== What is a preliminary assessment under section 15? ====
 +It is a check, not a trial. The Board assesses the child's mental and physical capacity to commit the offence, the ability to understand its consequences, and the circumstances, often with help from psychologists. The Act's own Explanation says this is only an assessment of capacity, not a trial. The order can be appealed under section 101(2).
 +
 +==== Is an offence "heinous" just because it can carry more than 7 years? ====
 +No. A heinous offence needs a minimum punishment of 7 years or more (section 2(33)). In [[https://indiankanoon.org/doc/187771162/|Shilpa Mittal v. State (NCT of Delhi), Supreme Court, 2020]], the Court held that an offence with no minimum of 7 years is not heinous and is treated as a serious offence.
 +
 +==== What punishment can the Board give a child? ====
 +Not an adult sentence. The Board can order counselling, group counselling, community service, a fine, probation of good conduct for up to 3 years, or a special home for up to 3 years (section 18). No child can be sentenced to death or to life imprisonment without the possibility of release (section 21).
 +
 +==== What happens if a 16-plus child is convicted as an adult? ====
 +The child is not sent straight to an ordinary jail. The child is kept in a place of safety until the age of 21, and only then may be moved to jail (section 19). An individual care plan and a yearly follow-up apply throughout.
 +
 +==== Does the same procedure apply across all states? ====
 +Yes. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 is a central law and applies across India. States frame rules for local details, but the Board procedure, timelines and age rules described here come from the central Act.
 +
 +===== Sources =====
 +
 +  * Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (Act 2 of 2016), official Act page on India Code (Ministry of Law and Justice): [[https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/2148|indiacode.nic.in]]
 +  * Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, enacted bare Act text (PDF) on India Code: [[https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/19022/1/juvenile_justice_%28care_and_protection_of_children%29_act%2C_2015_%282_of_2016%29.pdf|indiacode.nic.in bare Act PDF]]
 +
 +===== Related on RTI Wiki =====
 +
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/apply-legal-aid-free-lawyer-2026|How to apply for legal aid and a free lawyer]]
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/bnss-35-notice-before-arrest-rights|Your rights under a BNSS section 35 notice before arrest]]
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/zero-fir-bnss-section-173-procedure|How a Zero FIR works under BNSS section 173]]
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/download-fir-copy-online-2026|How to download an FIR copy online]]
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/fir-not-registered-rti|What to do when an FIR is not registered]]
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/plea-bargaining-bnss-chapter-23-india|Plea bargaining under BNSS Chapter 23]]
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/bnss-396-victim-compensation-scheme|Victim compensation scheme under BNSS section 396]]
 +
 +{{tag>juvenile justice board minor accused}}
  
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