Children in need of care and protection

THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN INDIA Pragati Kumari, LL.B./3rd Year/6th Semester Student at Amity Law School, Lucknow Campus (India) Astha Srivastava, Assistant Professor at Amity Law School, Lucknow Campus (India) Download Manuscript doi.org/10.70183/lijdlr.2026.v04.58 The juvenile justice system in India now rests on a unified child rights framework that treats all persons below eighteen as children and distinguishes carefully between children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, aligned with UNCRC standards, embeds principles of best interests, rehabilitation, diversion and institutionalisation as a measure of last resort, while the new criminal codes on substantive offences, procedure and evidence operate around this special regime. The study examines the evolution of this framework, the key substantive and procedural provisions on classification of children, age determination, bail and preliminary assessment, and the functioning of core institutions such as Juvenile Justice Boards, Child Welfare Committees, District Child Protection Units and Child Care Institutions. It analyses leading Supreme Court and High Court decisions that develop a rights-based, child-centric jurisprudence and interrogates continuing implementation deficits, including uneven institutional capacity, weak diversion mechanisms and gaps in aftercare. On this basis the research offers doctrinal and policy suggestions aimed at strengthening rehabilitation oriented responses, improving coordination across stakeholders and ensuring closer conformity with constitutional mandates and international child rights obligations.