Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015

Ramesh Bishnoi was selected for the post of Sub‑Inspector in the CISF and disclosed an FIR from 2009 alleging offences under IPC sections 354, 447 and 509 that were committed when he was a minor. He was acquitted in 2011 due to lack of evidence, but the screening committee cancelled his appointment on the ground of the…

The case arose from FIR No. 60/2017 alleging wrongful confinement, trafficking and conspiracy against Ajay Malik for employing a tribal domestic worker. Malik sought quashing of the criminal proceedings and compounding of the offences, supported by a no‑objection affidavit from the complainant, while the State opposed …

The Supreme Court entertained a writ petition under Article 32 seeking implementation of various protective measures for children under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act, 2015. The Court noted that the Ministry of Women and Child Development was still preparing a Standard Operating Procedure (S…

The appellant, convicted and sentenced to death for the 1994 murder of five women and two children, claimed he was a juvenile at the time of the offence, asserting an age of 12 years based on school birth certificates and other documents. After earlier petitions were dismissed, the Supreme Court referred the matter to …

The appellant, Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, alleged that his son was murdered and that the accused, the second respondent, was a juvenile at the time of the offence. The accused claimed juvenility based on a CBSE matriculation certificate showing a birth date of 17‑12‑1998, while school records, a transfer certificate, Aadhaar…

The appellant, Ram Vijay Singh, was convicted under IPC s.302 r/w s.34 for murder and claimed he was a juvenile at the time of the 20 July 1982 incident. He relied on a 1982 High Court bail order based on a radiologist’s report, an alleged age of 15½‑17½ years, and an arms‑licence application showing a birth date of 30…

The respondents, Ankur Gupta and Geetika Agarwal, applied to adopt a child in India on 19 July 2016 as Indian prospective adoptive parents, although Geetika was already a U.S. citizen and Ankur later acquired U.S. citizenship on 5 December 2016. After obtaining foreign citizenship, they were re‑registered as Overseas C…

The deceased Silak Ram died in a motorcycle accident on 4 August 2015. His family filed a claim before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) which awarded Rs 19,35,400 with 7.5% interest. The Punjab & Haryana High Court reduced the award to Rs 9,22,336, relying on the deceased’s age as 47 years derived from his Aad…

The respondents were convicted for murder and related offences arising from an incident on 17 January 2002. After being acquitted by the High Court, the Supreme Court restored the conviction in 2022, and the accused served more than four years of imprisonment. The accused then filed a miscellaneous application claiming…

The Supreme Court examined a criminal appeal filed by the State of West Bengal challenging a High Court order that had set aside the conviction of an accused under the POCSO Act and IPC for raping a 14‑year‑old girl who later married him and bore a child. The Court restored the conviction for offences under Section 6 o…

A four‑year‑old girl studying in the nursery class of Maxfort School, Delhi, alleged that a classmate sexually assaulted her. A charge‑sheet was filed under Section 21 of the POCSO Act read with Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act against the school principal, two teachers and the V…

The appellant, a 17‑year‑old at the time of the 2016 offence, was identified as a Child in Conflict with Law (CICL) but the charge sheet was filed directly before a Sessions Court without referral to a Juvenile Justice Board (JJB). The trial court convicted him under sections of the IPC and the POCSO Act and sentenced …

Pawan Kumar was convicted of murder and attempt to murder (IPC ss.302, 307 read with s.34) and sentenced to life imprisonment and seven years rigorous imprisonment. He contended that he was a juvenile at the time of the offence (01‑12‑1995) and sought the benefit of the Juvenile Justice Act. The trial court and High Co…

The appellant, an editor, published a news report disclosing the name of a 16‑year‑old girl who was a victim of sexual harassment, leading to a complaint under Section 23 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). The police investigated, filed a charge‑sheet and the Special Court took cognizance, …

The Supreme Court examined a criminal appeal filed by the State of West Bengal against a High Court order that set aside the conviction of a 25‑year‑old accused under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Sections 376(2)(n) and 376(3) of the IPC for raping a 14‑year‑old girl who later gave birth to his child. The Court held t…

The case involved a US‑born minor girl, M, whose mother (the appellant) fled the United States with her to India and filed for divorce. The father (respondent No.2) obtained a US custody order and sought a writ of habeas corpus in Delhi to have the child returned to the US. The Delhi High Court ordered her return, but …

The NGO Avyaan Foundation filed a public‑interest writ seeking a mandamus directing the Union and State governments to construct feeding and child‑care rooms in public places for nursing mothers. The petition argued that lack of such facilities infringes the fundamental rights of mothers and children, invoking Article …

The appellant alleged that respondent No.2, Nishant Solanki, who was charged with serious offences including murder, was not a juvenile and challenged the Juvenile Justice Board's (JJ Board) declaration that he was a juvenile delinquent based on his matriculation certificate. The appellant argued that the admission for…

The Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action, an NGO, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking comprehensive guidelines for the effective implementation of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA), including the appointment of exclusive Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) and support mecha…

The appellant Yuvaprakash was accused of kidnapping a 17‑year‑old girl M, solemnising a marriage with her and having sexual intercourse. The victim’s statement under Section 164 CrPC claimed she eloped voluntarily and was in love with the appellant. The trial court convicted him under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, Sectio…

The Supreme Court of India considered a batch of petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, and other laws. The Court held that there is no fundamental right to marry under the Constitution, and the Special Marriage Act is not unconstitutional for excluding same-sex c…

The appeal arose from the Kathua gang‑rape case where the accused Shubam Sangra claimed to be a juvenile. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, relying on municipal and parental testimony, held him a minor, a decision affirmed by the High Court. The State appealed, arguing that contradictory documentary evidence required refe…

The appellant, Manoj @ Monu @ Vishal Chaudhary, was initially declared a juvenile in conflict with law but the High Court set aside that finding and ordered him to stand trial as an adult. He sought to prove his juvenility on the basis of a birth certificate, a school leaving certificate, an ossification test report, a…

Bachpan Bachao Andolan filed a public‑interest writ petition under Article 32 seeking a mandamus directing the Union of India to devise and implement a national action plan to curb drug, alcohol and substance abuse among children. The Court noted the alarming rise in substance use among India’s 44 crore children and th…

The Supreme Court examined appeals filed by the victims of an interstate child‑trafficking racket challenging the High Court's grant of bail to thirteen accused persons charged under IPC sections 363, 311 and 370(5). The Court found that the High Court had ignored crucial factors such as the seriousness of the offence,…

The case concerns a 16‑year‑old accused (Bholu) of murder, whose preliminary assessment under Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 was held by the Juvenile Justice Board to warrant trial as an adult. The Board relied on a psychologist’s IQ report and a Social Investigation Repo…

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) took cognizance of media reports of large‑scale child trafficking in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, and sought information from the state police and the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR). The Additional Director General of Police (ADG…

The petitioners, a charitable trust and an individual, sought enforcement of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 to improve conditions in state‑run care homes for persons with cognitive disabilities, citing overcrowding, inadequate health care, abuse and lack of education. The Court examined whethe…

Vinod Katara, convicted to life imprisonment for murder in 1982, later claimed he was a juvenile at the time of the offence based on a medical board report and a Family Register showing a birth year of 1968. He filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking relief under Section 7A of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Prot…

The appellants, who had adopted four minor girls under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, had their custody seized by police on the basis of an FIR and the children were placed under the Child Welfare Project Director. The appellants challenged the police action, arguing it was illegal and violated Articles…

The Supreme Court addressed the protection of identity of victims of sexual offences, both adult and child, under IPC s.228A, CrPC s.327 and the POCSO Act. It held that no person may publish the victim's name or any detail that could lead to identification, and FIRs relating to such offences must not be placed in the p…

The appellant, a grieving father, challenged the grant of anticipatory and interim bail to the top management executives of Ryan International School, who were accused in the murder of his 7‑year‑old son. The respondents filed bail applications in the Bombay High Court and later in the Punjab & Haryana High Court, whic…

The Supreme Court examined whether Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which exempts a husband from rape liability when his wife is aged 15‑18, violates the Constitution and conflicts with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The Court held that the exemption creates an arbitrar…

The appellants were convicted under Section 302 read with Section 149 of the IPC for the murder of Ajay based primarily on the testimony of PW‑9, a cousin of the deceased, and a CCTV video. The Supreme Court examined the reliability of the eyewitness, finding his statements riddled with inconsistencies, no prior identi…

Sampurna Behura filed a public‑interest writ petition under Article 32 seeking the implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Acts of 2000 and 2015, alleging that many states had failed to establish or properly staff Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards, Special Juvenile Polic…

A juvenile aged between 16 and 18 was alleged to have committed homicide under IPC section 304, an offence with a maximum punishment of life imprisonment but no prescribed minimum sentence. The Juvenile Justice Board classified the offence as "heinous" and ordered the juvenile to be tried as an adult, a decision later …

The appeal was filed by a child in conflict with law (CCL) challenging a High Court order that set aside a Juvenile Justice Board's order directing his trial as an adult in a Children’s Court. The key issues were whether the three‑month period for completing a preliminary assessment under s.14(3) of the Juvenile Justic…

The appellant, Amanatullah Khan, challenged the inclusion of his minor children and wife in a police "History Sheet" that alleged his bad character, arguing that there was no adverse material against them. The Delhi High Court dismissed his writ petition under Article 226 and Section 482 of the CrPC, prompting an appea…

The appellant, convicted of culpable homicide amounting to murder for a 1994 incident, claimed he was a minor at the time of the offence, asserting a plea of juvenility under s.9(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Despite earlier courts treating him as an adult based on a bank‑accou…

The Supreme Court entertained Writ Petition (Civil) No. 406 of 2013 concerning inhuman conditions in 1,382 Indian prisons. Relying on earlier decisions, the Court affirmed that prisoners are persons entitled to fundamental rights, including dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution. It examined the persistent proble…

The Supreme Court examined a writ petition highlighting severe overcrowding in 1,382 Indian prisons, with occupancy exceeding 150% of permissible limits, and the failure of prison authorities to implement earlier court directions. The Court noted the absence of a juvenile custody manual under the Juvenile Justice (Care…

The appellants Mumtaz alias Muntyaz and Dilshad alias Pappu were convicted under Sections 302 and 34 IPC for setting fire to the victim Pawan Kumar, who later died of burn injuries. The prosecution relied on eyewitness testimony and a dying declaration recorded by a Sub‑Divisional Magistrate, which was endorsed by a do…

The appellant, B.N. John, owned a hostel for underprivileged children and alleged that officials raided it illegally on 3 June 2015, falsely accusing him of assaulting them. An FIR was lodged under IPC s.353, and a charge‑sheet later added s.186, leading the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) to take cognizance and issue …