LLM Notes: Judicial Contribution to Juvenile Justice in tabular form : A Study of Landmark Decisions of Supreme Court

Case Name	Year	Citation	Key Principle	Specific Contribution
Gopinath Ghosh v. State of West Bengal	1984	AIR 1984 SC 237	Age at offence → juvenile status	First retrospective application of juvenile laws
Sheela Barse & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors.	1986	(1986) 3 SCC 596	No children in adult jails	Legal aid, weekly jail visits, improved conditions
Sheela Barse & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.	1986	1986 (Supp) SCC 228	Timelines: 3-month probe, 6-month trial	Ensured speedy juvenile trials
Arnit Das v. State of Bihar	2000	(2000) 5 SCC 488	Date of court production (later overruled)	Caused confusion on age determination
Pratap Singh v. State of Jharkhand & Anr.	2005	(2005) 3 SCC 551	Date of offence → juvenile status	Resolved offence-date vs. production-date debate
Hari Ram v. State of Rajasthan & Another	2009	(2009) 13 SCC 211	Retroactive juvenile protection	Clarified applicability across statutes
Dharambir v. State (NCT of Delhi) & Anr.	2010	(2010) 5 SCC 344	Juvenility plea anytime	Allowed age claims at any trial stage
Bachpan Bachao Andolan v. Union of India & Others	2011	(2011) 5 SCC 1	Ban child circus employment	Introduced rehabilitation and anti-trafficking
Salil Bali v. Union of India & Another	2013	(2013) 7 SCC 705	Uphold JJ Act after Nirbhaya	Rejected lowering juvenile age
Dr. Subramanian Swamy & Ors v. Raju Thr. Member JJ Board & Anr.	2014	2014 AIR SCW 2378	Juvenile age limit maintained	Defended 18-year age cut-off
Shabnam Hashmi v. Union of India	2014	AIR 2014 SC 1281	Secular adoption under JJ Act	Adoption rights irrespective of religion
Child in Conflict with Law Through his Mother v. State of Karnataka & Another	2024	2024 INSC 387	Preliminary assessment timelines directory	Clarified non-mandatory time limits
Om Prakash @ Israel @ Raju @ Raju Das v. Union of India & Anr.	2025	Crl. Appeal No.4229/24	Juvenility plea at any stage	Released long-imprisoned juvenile convict

 

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