Child in conflict with law
Also called: Juvenile in conflict with law, CCL
Under Section 2(13) of the JJ Act, 2015, a child alleged or found to have committed an offence who had not completed eighteen years on the date of the offence.
Explained
Section 2(13) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 defines a child in conflict with law as a child who is alleged or found to have committed an offence and who has not completed eighteen years of age on the date of commission of such offence. Age is fixed on the date of the offence, not the date of apprehension or trial. Section 6 accordingly treats a person apprehended after turning eighteen for an offence committed earlier as a child during the inquiry.
The term must be distinguished from a child in need of care and protection under Section 2(14), such as an abandoned or working child, who is dealt with by the Child Welfare Committee. A child in conflict with law goes before the Juvenile Justice Board. Under Section 10 the police must place him under the special juvenile police unit or child welfare police officer and produce him before the Board within twenty four hours. Under Section 12 he shall ordinarily be released on bail, with or without surety, whether the offence is bailable or not, subject to the stated exceptions.
The Act classifies offences into petty, serious and heinous (Section 2(45), (54) and (33)). For a heinous offence alleged against a child aged sixteen or above, the Board makes a preliminary assessment under Section 15 of his mental and physical capacity, his ability to understand the consequences and the circumstances, and may transfer the case to the Children's Court to be tried as an adult. Even then, Section 21 forbids a sentence of death or of life imprisonment without the possibility of release.
Section 74 bars disclosure of the name, address, school or other identifying particulars of a child in conflict with law, on pain of imprisonment up to six months or fine up to two lakh rupees or both. Section 24 removes any disqualification attached to a conviction. These provisions sit beside the BNS rules on doli incapax in Sections 20 and 21.
What the law says
(13) “child in conflict with law” means a child who is alleged or found to have committed an offence and who has not completed eighteen years of age on the date of commission of such offence;
Clause (13) defines child in conflict with law; clauses (12), (33), (45), (54)
(1) Any person, who has completed eighteen years of age, and is apprehended for committing an offence when he was below the age of eighteen years, then, such person shall, subject to the provisions of this section, be treated as a child during the process of inquiry.
(2) The person referred to in sub-section (1), if not released on bail by the Board shall be placed in a place of safety during the process of inquiry.
(3) The person referred to in sub-section (1) shall be treated as per the procedure specified under the provisions of this Act.
Person apprehended after eighteen for an earlier offence treated as a child
(1) 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 Board shall conduct a preliminary assessment with regard to 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, and may pass an order in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 18:
Provided that for such an assessment, the Board may take the assistance of experienced psychologists or psycho-social workers or other experts.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, it is clarified that preliminary assessment is not a trial, but is to assess the capacity of such child to commit and understand the consequences of the alleged offence.
Preliminary assessment into heinous offences by children aged sixteen or above
No child in conflict with law shall be sentenced to death or for life imprisonment without the possibility of release, for any such offence, either under the provisions of this Act or under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) or any other law for the time being in force.
Bar on death sentence and life imprisonment without release
(1) No report in any newspaper, magazine, news-sheet or audio-visual media or other forms of communication regarding any inquiry or investigation or judicial procedure, shall disclose the name, address or school or any other particular, which may lead to the identification of a child in conflict with law or a child in need of care and protection or a child victim or witness of a crime, involved in such matter, under any other law for the time being in force, nor shall the picture of any such child be published:
Provided that for reasons to be recorded in writing, the Board or Committee, as the case may be, holding the inquiry may permit such disclosure, if in its opinion such disclosure is in the best interest of the child.
(2) The Police shall not disclose any record of the child for the purpose of character certificate or otherwise [in the pending case or in the case which] has been closed or disposed of.
Prohibition on disclosing the identity of the child
Nothing is an offence which is done by a child under seven years of age.
Nothing is an offence done by a child under seven
Earlier law: IPC 82. Act of a child under seven years of age.
For the exam
- Age is judged on the date of the offence (Section 2(13) JJ Act).
- Produce before the Juvenile Justice Board within 24 hours (Section 10).
- Preliminary assessment only for heinous offences by a child aged 16 or above (Section 15).
- No death sentence or life imprisonment without release (Section 21).
- Disclosing identity: up to 6 months or fine up to 2 lakh rupees or both (Section 74(3)).
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Related terms
- ChildUnder Section 2(3) of the BNS a child is any person below eighteen years of age. Special statutes use the same age with small variations, and child marriage law sets twenty one for males.
- Heinous offencesOffences for which the minimum punishment under the IPC or any other law in force is imprisonment for seven years or more (Section 2(33) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015).
- Serious offencesUnder Section 2(54) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, offences with a minimum sentence above three and up to seven years, or a maximum above seven years with no minimum or a minimum below seven years.
- Petty offenceFor Section 229 of the BNSS, an offence punishable only with fine not exceeding five thousand rupees, other than Motor Vehicles Act offences and offences under laws allowing conviction in absence on a guilty plea.
- Doli incapaxIncapable of crime. A child below a certain age is treated as unable to form a guilty mind, so his act is not an offence. In India this is Sections 20 and 21 of the BNS.
- Abandoned childA child deserted by his biological or adoptive parents or guardians who has been declared abandoned by the Child Welfare Committee after due inquiry (Section 2(1) of the JJ Act, 2015).
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.