LEKHIKA RATHOD, DR. ANKITA SHUKLA
DOI: https://doi.org/India’s juvenile justice law is often praised for its child-centred design, but the success of a justice system cannot be judged by its statutes alone. This article argues that juvenile justice in Chhattisgarh is still measured largely by inputs, such as the number of institutions established and the number of cases disposed of, rather than by outcomes in the lives of children. Drawing on national crime statistics, district-level institutional records and judicial interpretation, it identifies five signals of strain: a rising child-protection burden, an exceptionally high juvenile crime rate, the educational disconnection of children in conflict with law, uneven access to timely adjudication, and the under-use of residential care in districts of high need. The article treats preliminary assessment under Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 as a test case for this measurement gap. It then proposes an outcome-based accountability framework built around a simple and demanding question: did the child’s life improve after contact with the system?
