Key Provisions of the JJ Act, 2015

• In India, a juvenile is a person less than 18 years of age.  
• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, addresses children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection.
• The Act has categorised the offences committed by children into three categories — petty offences, serious offences, and heinous offences. 
• The Act provides for trying juveniles in the age group of 16-18 as adults in cases of heinous offences.

Juvenile Justice Boards:

• The Act provides for one or more Juvenile Justice Boards to be constituted in every district. The JJ Board consists of a Judicial magistrate of the first class and two social workers of whom at least one should be a woman.
• In case of a heinous offence alleged to have been committed by a child, who has completed or is above the age of sixteen years, the JJ Board shall conduct a preliminary assessment regarding his mental and physical capacity to commit such offence, ability to understand the consequences of the offence and the circumstances in which he allegedly committed the offence.
• If the Board, after preliminary assessment passes an order that there is a need for trial of the said child as an adult, then the Board may order the transfer of the case to the Children’s Court having jurisdiction to try such offences. 

Child Welfare Committee:

• The Act provides for one or more Child Welfare Committees to be constituted in every district which consists of One Chairperson and 4 other members of whom at least 1 should be woman and another, an expert on the matters concerning children.
• The Committee is responsible for restoring abandoned or lost children to their families, declaring them legally free for adoption, taking suo-moto cognizance of cases, taking action for rehabilitation of sexually abused children, coordinating with agencies involved in the care and protection of children, etc.

Adoption:

• The Act streamlined adoption procedures for orphans, abandoned and surrendered children and the existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has been given the status of a statutory body to enable it to perform its function more effectively.
• The Act fulfils India’s commitment as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child, the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Inter-country Adoption (1993), and other related international instruments.

Implementation:

• The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is under a statutory obligation under the JJ Act to monitor the proper implementation of the provisions of the Act. 

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2021 

• In 2021, the Parliament passed The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2021 which amended the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
• The amendments include authorizing District Magistrate including Additional District Magistrate to issue adoption orders under the JJ Act, in order to ensure speedy disposal of cases and enhance accountability. Previously, civil courts oversaw this process.