Indian justice system fails children every day: Madan Lokur

The Print

4 days ago

While a robust legal framework exists to protect children's rights, significant barriers continue to impede their access to justice, especially for children from marginalised communities, rural areas, or conflict-affected regions.
India has passed several progressive legislation to protect child rights such as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, the Right to Education Act, 2009, and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Complementing these laws are strategic litigation, government schemes, active participation of civil society organisations, and National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
The right of every child to seek and obtain justice is a cornerstone of a just and equitable society. Recognising this, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has dedicated its 27th General Comment to 'Children's Rights to Access to Justice and Effective Remedies'. Access to justice is not only about courtrooms and legal aid, it is also a means to combat inequalities, challenge discriminatory practices, restore denied entitlements, and ensure fulfilment of obligations by state and private actors.
The Crime in India Report 2022 reveals that the crimes committed against children in India are more than three times those committed by children. A staggering 1,62,449 crimes were committed against children that year, while crimes committed by children was 30,555. This highlights the urgent need for more effective and accessible remedies for child victims of crime.
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Barriers to children's access to justice
Children often face barriers long before they enter the justice system. Social stigma, caste, and gender discrimination as well as fear prevent children from approaching teachers, police, and local leaders to report crimes even in cases of grave violations. As the recent events in Kolkata show, even young adults are afraid to call out offenders.
While free legal aid is mandated by law, it is more frequently provided to children in conflict with law. The rights of victims have not really been implemented. Most legal aid lawyers are often overburdened with work and undertrained in child rights. There are allegations of legal aid lawyers engaging in malpractice and misconduct by not attending court proceedings and collecting fees, though they must provide the service for free. This contributes to prolonged legal inquiries, thereby denying real access to justice.
Child rights initiatives are concentrated in metropolitan areas while children in rural areas are left with makeshift courts such as village panchayats for dispute resolution. Furthermore, children in regions of conflict (such as Jammu and Kashmir, and Manipur) either do not have access to legal services at all or have limited access. Street children and child domestic workers face compounded challenges due to a lack of documentation, fear of authority, and socio-economic vulnerability.
Reforming the system: Key recommendations
To make the justice system accessible to children, it is important to provide trained legal aid counsel, establish child-sensitive and child-friendly courts with specially trained judges, use plain language, engage translators, and provide support persons and case workers who can assist parents and children in court procedure.
Video conferencing can be used to make courtrooms and legal consultation accessible in remote areas. This can reduce the financial burden on the victim to travel to court.
Beyond the courtroom, child services must include counselling, therapy, psychiatric support, social reintegration, education, and financial assistance.
Consistent monitoring of child rights violations by location, gender, caste, and type of crime can help develop targeted strategies and deliver focused services in specific regions.
Litigation by child rights organisations has played an important role in advancing protections for children. In State v. Sujeet Kumar (2014), the court ordered the establishment of separate deposition complexes to shield children from the intimidating environment of regular courtrooms. In Kaum Faqeer Shah v. Ministry of Labour and Employment (2024), district and sub-divisional magistrates in Delhi were directed to work closely with child welfare committees to rescue children from child labour and ensure the recovery of back wages. In Court on its Own Motion v. Department of Women and Child Development (2012), the court ordered that all children under the age of 18 be identified and transferred from adult prisons to observation homes within Delhi's prison system.
Some of the best practices under the POCSO Act, 2012 include (i) the appointment of a 'Support Person' to provide emotional and psychological support to child victims during legal proceedings and ensure their well-being and protection, (ii) the establishment of vulnerable witness deposition complexes, (iii) the availability of counsellors and translators for children, (iv) allowing child victims to be heard during bail hearings.
These protections are supplemented by the JJ Act, 2015, which contains measures such as (i) Principal Magistrates dressed in civilian clothing to appear more approachable to children, (ii) resolving cases involving petty offences within six months, or terminating them if not resolved within that period, (iii) the appointment of Project Monitors to monitor a child's rehabilitation and progress through Individual Care Plans, (iv) maintaining the confidentiality of proceedings, and (v) providing the right to be forgotten to children in conflict with the law.
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Government initiatives and digital solutions
Sexual offences against children remain a grave concern. To address them, the Ministry of Home Affairs has launched the National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO), which collects and maintains records of all sexual offenders. As per the NDSO Annual Report (2022-2023), the database holds information on more than 1.2 million sexual offenders. Another initiative, the Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences (ITSSO), allows states to track the progress of sexual offence investigations through a cloud-based software system, which has reportedly improved compliance rates.
The judiciary has also contributed by supporting the creation of the Track Child Portal and permitting the use of Facial Recognition Software to trace missing children. During its initial trial, the Delhi Police were able to locate 3,000 missing children within just four days.
Several legal aid schemes have been launched to support children, including:
— the NALSA (Child Friendly Legal Services to Children and their Protection) Scheme, 2015, which provides for mobile legal aid clinics, one-stop centres in rural areas, and legal services clinics within child welfare institutions;
— the Delhi Scheme for Financial Sustenance, Education & Welfare of Children of Incarcerated Parents, 2014, which offers legal aid and welfare support to children of incarcerated parents; and
— the NALSA Legal Services for Differently Abled Children Scheme, 2021, which ensures access to legal aid for children with disabilities.
An important aspect of access to justice for children is the principle of restorative justice. While the JJ Act does not explicitly provide for restorative justice mechanisms, civil society organisations such as Enfold India and Counsel to Secure Justice are working with child care institutions and within the child protection framework to create safe spaces for the healing and rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law.
Grassroots participation is also critical. Stakeholders such as Anganwadi workers, through the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), play a key role in reporting child rights violations. Their involvement helps bridge the gap between child victims and the institutional apparatus, which is in place for addressing such crimes.
Mission Vatsalya: A comprehensive approach
Mission Vatsalya, launched by the Government of India in 2021-2022, is an important strategy of the Ministry of Women and Child Development to facilitate children's access to justice. It is an amalgamation of three schemes that existed prior to 2009–2010: (i) the programme for juvenile justice for children in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law, (ii) the integrated programme for street children, and (iii) the scheme for assistance to homes for children (Shishu Greh).
Key features of Mission Vatsalya include: (i) promotion of family-based, non-institutional care for children, (ii) promotion of legal adoption, (iii) strengthening of emergency response systems, including 24×7 child helplines, (iv) enhancing coordination across all levels of governance—from village panchayats to the central government, (v) encouraging private sector participation to support children within the legal framework, (vi) integration of digital platforms such as TrackChild (for missing children), CARINGS (for adoption), ICPS (for scheme monitoring), and Khoya-Paya (a citizen-centric application for missing and sighted children) into a unified digital ecosystem, (vii) monthly financial support for children in institutional and non-institutional care through the PM CARES for Children initiative.
Vatsalya Mission is implemented through the State Child Protection Society, established under the JJ Act, 2015, and coordinated at the district level by the District Magistrate and District Child Protection Unit. Implementation is supervised at the state level by the State Child Welfare and Protection Committee.
Mission Vatsalya serves as a model for coordinated, rights-based governance for child protection and access to justice.
Toward a rights-based future
Access to justice is not a privilege—it is a right. While India's legal frameworks and innovations mark important progress, much work remains to make justice inclusive, child-sensitive, and truly accessible. From strengthening legal aid and expanding restorative approaches, to using technology and empowering communities, a comprehensive, intersectional, and participatory approach is vital.
Access to justice can be realized only through sustained political will, coordination across sectors, and the recognition of children not merely as passive recipients of care but as rights holders and active participants in justice. NGOs across the country are doing a fine job in all areas of child rights and must be encouraged, with financial support, if necessary.
Justice Madan B Lokur is a former judge of the Supreme Court.
Raagini Raghu is a lawyer practicing in Delhi and Bengaluru. She tweets @raagini202.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)