What is the procedure if a minor is accused of a criminal offence in India?

Question

My teenage child has been accused of a crime. How does the juvenile justice system handle this differently from adult criminal procedure? What I am unsure about is the procedure — where the application goes, what it costs, and how long juvenile justice board matters usually take. A plain explanation of the steps, in order, would help more than a general answer.

MyVakeel Legal Desk · Accepted Answer

The law that applies to juvenile justice board here is Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 s.14-19. The detail below matters, because Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 s.14-19 draws the line differently depending on what your documents show.

A child in conflict with law (under 18 years) is not tried by regular criminal courts but by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), comprising a Magistrate and two social workers, which conducts an inquiry rather than a criminal trial under s.14.

For heinous offences (punishable with 7 years or more) committed by a child aged 16-18, the JJB conducts a preliminary assessment under s.15 of the child's mental and physical capacity, and can order the case to be tried as an adult before the Children's Court if the assessment supports it.

For all other offences, the child is dealt with through the JJB's inquiry process resulting in orders like counselling, community service, or placement in a special home, with the maximum period of stay generally capped at 3 years, and never resulting in a criminal record or death/life sentence.

The child cannot ordinarily be handcuffed, detained in a regular police lockup or jail, and must be produced before the JJB within 24 hours of apprehension, kept in an Observation Home in the interim.

The identity of the child cannot be disclosed in media or records under s.74, and the JJB must dispose of the inquiry within a maximum of 4 months from the first production, extendable in exceptional cases.

What this means for you: 1) Ensure the child is produced before the Juvenile Justice Board within 24 hours and not treated as an adult accused; 2) Engage a lawyer familiar with juvenile justice procedure to represent the child before the JJB; 3) For heinous offences, prepare for the preliminary assessment and, if needed, contest the transfer to Children's Court; 4) Coordinate with the Probation Officer / social worker appointed for a social investigation report favourable to the child.

Where the facts are disputed, what usually decides a juvenile justice board matter is the paper trail — dated complaints, acknowledgments and written replies under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 s.14-19. You can post the details on the MyVakeel forum for a practising advocate to review, or book a paid consultation with a Bar Council verified lawyer in criminal law.