Kerala High Court Issues 15 Key Directions to Reform Juvenile Justice System and Safeguard Child Rights

The Kerala High Court has directed the State government to implement major reforms to strengthen the Juvenile Justice system and protect the rights of children in need of care and those in conflict with the law.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji, while hearing Suo Motu v. State of Kerala & Ors and a related case, noted that despite India having progressive child protection laws, Kerala’s system faces significant challenges such as staff shortages, delay in rehabilitation, and weak data management. These lapses, the Court observed, leave children vulnerable to neglect and exploitation.

To address these gaps, the Bench ordered the State to take time-bound measures to improve coordination, accountability, and monitoring across all child protection agencies.

The Court’s Key Directions

1. Vacancies to be Filled: All posts in the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KeSCPCR) must be filled within four weeks. Future recruitments should begin at least four months before vacancies arise.
2. Annual Reports: The annual report for 2024–25, as required under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, must be completed and published within eight weeks. Future reports must be filed by June every year.
3. Inspection of Child Care Institutions: A Multi-Stakeholder Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for annual inspections of all Child Care Institutions (CCIs) must be prepared, and pending inspections completed within three months.
4. Reconstitution of Committees: The reconstitution of Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) must be completed within eight weeks.
5. Regular CWC Meetings: CWCs must meet at least 21 days every month as required by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
6. Early Recruitment Process: Vacancies in CWCs, JJBs, and among Probation Officers must be initiated at least four months before existing terms end.
7. Protocol for Rehabilitation: A draft protocol for the rehabilitation and reintegration of children should be prepared within three months.
8. Data Management: Information on missing and rescued children must be uploaded to the National Mission Vatsalya portal within three months.
9. Police Units for Juveniles: Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPUs) must be set up in every district under the supervision of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, within three months.
10. Child Welfare Officers: Each police station must designate at least one Child Welfare Officer (CWO) not below the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector within four months, and all such officers must undergo specialised training.
11. Model Rules Finalisation: The State Juvenile Justice Model Rules, 2016, should be finalised and notified within three months.
12. Social Audits: Annual social audits of all CCIs must be completed within six months and thereafter conducted every year, with reports submitted in June.

The Principal Secretary of the Women and Child Welfare Department has been directed to monitor and coordinate the implementation of these directions with all relevant departments and agencies.

The order was issued while disposing of two writ petitions—one initiated suo motu following the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Sampurna Behura v. Union of India and another filed by the child rights NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan and its programme director, Sampurna Behura.

Senior Advocate Santhosh Mathew (assisted by Advocate Arun Thomas) represented the Kerala State Legal Services Authority, while Special Government Pleader V. Manu appeared for the State. Advocates Deepu Thankan, Ummul Fida, and Lakshmi Sreedhar represented Bachpan Bachao Andolan.