Major provisions

To remove the negative connotation associated with the word “juvenile,” the Act’s nomenclature
was changed from “juvenile” to “child” or “child in conflict with the law.”

Several additional definitions were added, including orphaned, abandoned, and surrendered
children, as well as small, serious, and heinous crimes committed by children.

The clarity in the powers, functions, and responsibilities of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and
the Child Welfare Committee (CWC); precise timelines for Juvenile Justice Board (JJB)
inquiries; The Act requires that Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees be
established in each district. Each must have at least one female member.

Special measures for children over the age of 16 who commit heinous crimes – Specific
measures have been developed under Section 15 to deal with child offenders aged 16 to 18 who
commit serious crimes. After conducting the preliminary assessment, the Juvenile Justice Board
has the option of transferring cases of severe crime by such minors to a Children’s Court (Court
of Session). The regulations provide for children to be placed in a “safe place” both during and
after the trial until they reach the age of 21, at which point the Children’s Court will evaluate the
youngster. After the evaluation, the youngster is either freed on probation or sent to jail for the
remainder of the sentence if he or she has not reformed. The law will serve as a deterrent to
minor offenders who commit horrible crimes like rape and murder, while also protecting the
victim’s rights.

A new chapter on adoption has been included to help in the adoption of orphaned, abandoned,
and surrendered children. The current Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has been
given the status of a statutory entity to enable it to fulfill its duty more effectively to streamline
adoption procedures for orphaned, abandoned, and surrendered children.
A completely separate chapter (VIII) on adoption contains extensive requirements on adoption as
well as penalties for failing to follow the procedure. Timelines for both in-country and
inter-country adoption have been shortened, including declaring a child legally free for adoption.
A single or divorced individual can adopt under the conditions, but a single male cannot adopt a
girl child.

Inclusion of new offenses against children – The Act includes several new offenses against
children that have yet to be fully addressed by any previous law. These include the following:

Sale and procurement of children for whatever purpose, including unlawful adoption, and
corporal punishment in child care institutions.

Child use by militant groups.

Offenses targeting children with disabilities and kidnapping and abduction.

Penalties have been imposed for a child’s abuse, offering a youngster a drug, and kidnapping or
selling a youngster. Any officer who does not report an abandoned or orphaned child in 24 hours
shall be liable for up to 6 months in prison or a Rs. 10,000 fine, or both. The penalty for
non-registration is a prison term of up to 1 year or a fine of 1 lakh or both. The punishment for
administering liquor, narcotics, or psychotropic drugs to a child shall be imprisonment for up to
seven years or one lake or the other.

Registration of child care institutions – Any institution which, wholly or partially, receives
subsidies from the government or which is run by the State Government or by a
non-governmental organization is to be mandatorily registered under the Act within 6 months
from the date of the Act, irrespective of whether it is to be received. Child care institutions must
be registered by law. In cases of non-compliance, astringent punishment is provided.
For children in conflict with the law and who need care and protection, certain rehabilitative and
social re-integration procedures were introduced. Children in institutional care receive different
services to enable them to play a productive part in society, such as education, health, nutrition,
de-addiction, disease treatment, professional training, skill development, life education,
counseling, etc. Among the non-institutional options are sponsorship and foster care including
group foster care for placing children in a family environment that is other than the child’s
biological family, which is to be selected, qualified, approved, and supervised for providing care
to children.

Important definitions under the Act

Below are some of the important definitions mentioned under Section 2 of the Act.

Abandoned child [Section 2(1)]

It refers to a child who has been abandoned by his birth or adoptive parents or guardians and has
been pronounced abandoned by the Committee after a thorough investigation.

Adoption [Section 2 (2)]

It refers to the procedure by which an adopted kid is permanently separated from his biological
parents and becomes a lawful child of his adoptive parents, with all of the rights, benefits, and
duties that a biological child enjoys.

Adoption regulations [Section 2 (3)]

It refers to the adoption regulations drafted by the Authority and published by the Central
Government.

Authorized foreign adoption agency [Section 2 (6)]

It means a foreign social or child welfare agency authorized by the Central Adoption Resource
Authority on the recommendation of their Central Authority or a Government department of that
country to sponsor the application of a non-resident Indian or overseas citizen of India, or a
person of Indian origin, or a foreign prospective adoptive parent for the adoption of a child from
India.

Authority [Section 2 (7)]

This means the Central Adoption Resource Authority is constituted under Section 68.

Child [Section 2 (12)]

It means a person who has not completed eighteen years of age.

Child in conflict with the law [Section 2(13)]

It means a child who is alleged or found to have committed an offense and who has not
completed eighteen years of age on the date of commission of such offense.

Foster family [Section 2 (30)]

This means a family found suitable by the District Child Protection Unit to keep children in
foster care under Section 44.

Heinous offenses [Section 2 (33)]

Includes the offenses for which the minimum punishment under the Indian Penal Code or any
other law for the time being in force is imprisonment for seven years or more.

Juvenile [Section 2 (35)]

Means a child below the age of eighteen years.