{"id":74375,"date":"2025-11-21T11:26:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T05:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=74375"},"modified":"2025-11-21T11:29:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T05:59:51","slug":"juvenile-justice-boards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/juvenile-justice-boards\/","title":{"rendered":"High Pendency and Staffing Gaps in Juvenile Justice Boards"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Juvenile Justice Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A first-of-its-kind study by the <\/span><b>India Justice Report<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (IJR) has revealed that more than 55% of cases before India\u2019s Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) were pending as of October 31, 2023, highlighting systemic gaps in staffing, data management, and infrastructure.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The findings, based on over 250 RTI responses from 21 States, show that JJBs have disposed of less than half of 1,00,904 cases filed before them.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Status of Juvenile Justice Boards Across India<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the IJR study, while 92% of India\u2019s 765 districts have constituted JJBs, the pendency rate is alarmingly high and varies widely:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Odisha:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 83% pendency<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Karnataka:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 35% pendency<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>National Average:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 55% pendency<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, 24% of JJBs are not fully constituted, and 30% lack an attached legal services clinic, both essential for delivering child-centric justice.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Findings from the India Justice Report Study<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report titled <\/span><b>\u201cJustice and Children in Conflict with the Law: A Study of Capacity at the Frontlines\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> evaluates the functioning of institutions created under the <\/span><b>Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>High Pendency and Workload<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each JJB handled an average of 154 pending cases annually, reflecting a serious mismatch in caseload and capacity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Staffing and Infrastructure Shortfalls<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Major vacancies in JJB positions, particularly social workers and support staff,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Insufficient funds for training and capacity-building,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lack of child-friendly infrastructure in many districts.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These gaps directly affect the quality and timeliness of hearings.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Poor Data Systems and Transparency<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike the National Judicial Data Grid for courts, no central repository exists for JJB data. RTI responses revealed:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><b>11%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of queries were rejected outright,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>24%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> received no reply,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only <\/span><b>36%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> received complete responses.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>High Number of Juveniles Apprehended<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">40,036 juveniles were apprehended in 31,365 cases,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over 75% were aged 16-18 years, indicating a rising trend of older adolescents entering the justice system.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Structural Gaps in the Juvenile Justice Architecture<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The IJR study highlights that despite a decade since the JJ Act 2015, the decentralised juvenile justice architecture remains weak:<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Inter-Agency Coordination Deficit<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The four nodal agencies, Police, Department of Women &amp; Child Development, State Child Protection Society (SCPS), and State Legal Services Authority (SLSA), often operate in silos.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More than 500 RTI queries were submitted across 28 States and 2 UTs, covering 530 districts. The fragmented responses reflect poor coordination and monitoring.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Inadequate Legal Support<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With <\/span><b>30% of JJBs lacking legal aid clinics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, many children face the system without proper defence representation, contrary to the child-centric principles of the JJ Act.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Vacancies in Child Care Institutions<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not just JJBs, but even child care institutions suffer from significant staff shortages, affecting rehabilitation and reintegration efforts.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To strengthen the juvenile justice ecosystem, experts recommend:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Establishing a <\/span><b>National Juvenile Justice Data Grid<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Filling vacancies across JJBs and child care institutions,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensuring the availability of legal aid services in all districts,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enhancing inter-agency data sharing,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increasing budgetary allocations for child protection services,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regular monitoring and public reporting of JJB functioning.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such reforms are essential for safeguarding children in conflict with the law and ensuring a fair, timely, and child-friendly justice process.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/more-than-50-pending-cases-before-justice-juvenile-board-jjbs-not-fully-staffed\/article70301965.ece#:~:text=More%20than%20half%20(55%25),35%25%20in%20Karnataka%2C%20noted%20a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over 55% of cases remain pending before India\u2019s Juvenile Justice Boards, according to the India Justice Report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":74392,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[3805,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-74375","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-juvenile-justice","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}