The Juvenile Justice Act Explained: JJB Procedure and Heinous Offences (2026)
How cases involving children in conflict with law work: the Juvenile Justice Board, the preliminary assessment for heinous offences, when a 16 to 18 year old can be tried as an adult, and the appeal. A practical guide. Last verified October 2026.
Explainer · Criminal Law · Juvenile Justice
A child who is alleged to have committed an offence is not tried like an adult; the case goes to the Juvenile Justice Board, which focuses on reform, not punishment. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) governs how these cases run. But there is one big exception: for a heinous offence by a child aged 16 to 18, the Board can decide, after a preliminary assessment, that the child be tried as an adult. This page explains the Board, the procedure, the heinous-offence route, and the appeal. Last verified October 2026.
- Law: the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. A child is a person under 18.
- Forum: a child in conflict with law goes before the Juvenile Justice Board (Section 4), not a regular court.
- Bail: release on bail is the rule for a child, unless it would expose the child to danger or defeat justice.
- Heinous offences: for a 16 to 18 year old, the Board does a preliminary assessment (Section 15) and may send the case to the Children’s Court for trial as an adult.
- Appeal: an appeal lies under Section 101 to the Children’s Court or Court of Session, within 30 days.
01A different system for children
The JJ Act treats a child who is alleged to have committed an offence as a "child in conflict with law", not as an accused to be punished. The whole system is built around care, protection, and reform. A child is a person who has not completed 18 years of age.
Offences under the Act are grouped into three kinds, and the group decides how the case is handled:
- Petty offences: punishable with up to three years imprisonment;
- Serious offences: punishable with three to seven years; and
- Heinous offences: punishable with a minimum of seven years or more.
02The Juvenile Justice Board
Every district has a Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) under Section 4 of the Act. The Board is not an ordinary court. It has a Metropolitan or Judicial Magistrate and two social workers, at least one of whom is a woman, so that the child is dealt with sensitively.
A child in conflict with law is produced before the Board, not before a regular criminal court. The Board decides bail, conducts the inquiry, and passes final orders, keeping the child’s best interest at the centre. The child is not to be kept with adult accused persons.
No ordinary arrest-and-jail
A child alleged to be in conflict with law is apprehended, not arrested in the ordinary sense, and is kept in an Observation Home, not a jail, while the inquiry goes on.
03How a case moves
The steps are different from an adult case:
- the child is produced before the Board, usually within 24 hours;
- bail is the rule: a child is generally released on bail, unless release would expose the child to danger or defeat the ends of justice;
- for petty and serious offences, the Board conducts an inquiry and must complete it within the period set by the Act; and
- for a heinous offence by a child aged 16 to 18, the Board first conducts a preliminary assessment.
04Heinous offences and the preliminary assessment
This is the part that changed with the 2015 Act. Under Section 15, where a child who has completed 16 years is alleged to have committed a heinous offence, the Board must conduct a preliminary assessment of:
- the child’s mental and physical capacity to commit the offence;
- the child’s ability to understand the consequences of the offence; and
- the circumstances in which the offence was allegedly committed.
The Supreme Court has held that this preliminary assessment is to be concluded within three months, but because the Act does not fix a consequence for missing that period, the three-month limit is not mandatory. The assessment is not a trial; it only gauges the child’s capacity. If the Board decides the child should be tried as an adult, the case is sent to the Children’s Court. Last verified October 2026.
The preliminary assessment is the hinge: it decides whether a 16 to 18 year old stays in the juvenile system or is tried as an adult.
05Orders the Board can pass
Where the Board keeps the case, it can pass a range of orders that focus on reform rather than jail, such as:
- allowing the child to go home after advice or admonition, or on probation of good conduct;
- ordering community service or a fine where the child earns;
- directing the child to a special home for a period; and
- other measures in the child’s best interest.
Even where a child is found to have committed an offence, the Act bars most of the usual consequences of a conviction, and a child is generally not sentenced to death or life imprisonment without the possibility of release.
06Appeal
Section 101 of the Act gives a right of appeal. An appeal against an order of the Board lies to the Children’s Court or the Court of Session, and must be filed within 30 days. The appellate court can admit a late appeal if the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause.
There is a special rule for the preliminary assessment: an appeal against an order passed after a Section 15 assessment lies before the Court of Session, which may take the help of experienced psychologists and medical specialists. Where a POCSO offence is alleged against a child, the two laws work together, which you can read in the POCSO procedure explainer.
07Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
A case involving a child can travel from the Juvenile Justice Board to the Children's Court and then into appeal, and the Section 15 preliminary assessment is contested at nearly every step. To argue it well, you need to see how Boards and courts have weighed a young person's capacity and the three-month timeline. Claw reads across more than 30 crore judgments and returns the relevant ones in under 5 seconds, and it keeps watch on a live matter, its orders and its hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums.
Claw does not use your case documents to train its AI models, so a sensitive juvenile file stays private even as you research it. Set up a free Claw account to track a Board or Children's Court matter as it is heard, and reach the wider law through case search across Indian courts.
08Sources and further reading
- India Code (official text of the JJ Act, 2015): indiacode.nic.in
- Ministry of Women and Child Development: wcd.nic.in
- National Commission for Protection of Child Rights: ncpcr.gov.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This explainer is general information, not legal advice. Juvenile cases are sensitive and fact-specific, so check the current text of the Act and take advice from counsel before you act.
09Frequently asked questions
Who decides a case against a child in conflict with law?
The Juvenile Justice Board, set up under Section 4 in each district. It has a Magistrate and two social workers, at least one a woman, and deals with the child in a child-friendly way, not as an ordinary criminal court.
When can a child be tried as an adult?
Only where a child who has completed 16 years is alleged to have committed a heinous offence (minimum seven years imprisonment). The Board conducts a preliminary assessment under Section 15 and, if it decides the child should be tried as an adult, sends the case to the Children’s Court.
What is the preliminary assessment under Section 15?
It is an assessment of the child’s mental and physical capacity, ability to understand the consequences of the offence, and the circumstances of the offence. The Supreme Court has held it should be concluded within three months, but that period is not mandatory because the Act fixes no consequence for delay.
Does a child get bail easily?
Generally yes. Under the Act, release on bail is the rule for a child in conflict with law, whether the offence is bailable or not, unless release would bring the child into contact with known criminals, expose the child to danger, or defeat the ends of justice.
How do I appeal a Juvenile Justice Board order?
Section 101 gives an appeal to the Children’s Court or the Court of Session within 30 days. An appeal against an order passed after a Section 15 preliminary assessment lies before the Court of Session, which may take expert help.
Can I track a juvenile case in Claw?
Yes. Claw follows a live juvenile matter, its orders and its hearings as it moves across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, and it searches more than 30 crore judgments for how the preliminary assessment has been read, with results in under 5 seconds. Your case documents are never used to train its AI models. It tracks and researches the matter but does not give legal advice.