Study on Pendency before the Juvenile Justice Boards, Bengaluru Urban

Although the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 promises a speedy inquiry in all cases, including disposal within six months for petty offenses, the Juvenile Justice Boards, like the adult courts, are plagued with delays. Cases often go on for three or four years, especially in serious and heinous offenses, by which time children are often already adults. In an attempt to understand the reasons for these delays, CCL is launching a study on pendency before the Juvenile Justice Boards in Bengaluru. 

With the exception of a 2015-16 UNICEF study on cases pending before boards in Assam, there has been almost no attempt to analyze the reasons for pendency of cases before JJBs in various states. Further, this study preceded the enactment of the new Juvenile Justice Act in early 2016. Hence, this study will be imperative to informing the research gap and thereafter shaping the manner in which stakeholders in the juvenile justice system deal with case pendency.

In the study, CCL will analyze the progress of cases to identify the stages at which delays are most common, and to understand the reasons for delays at each stage. The data from the study will be collated into a research report with sharply focussed recommendations to stakeholders in the system to reduce the pendency of inquiries before the JJBs, and enable efficient functioning of the system.