ShodhPatra: International Journal of Science and Humanities

Juvenility in Question: A Critical Analysis of Age Determination Mechanisms under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015

One of the most important decision-making processes in India's juvenile justice system is determining a child's age and, consequently, their legal status as a "juvenile." A completely different institutional and procedural regime is triggered when an accused person is classified as a juvenile under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act, 2015), which has significant ramifications for criminal culpability, liberty, and rehabilitation. However, age determination is still plagued by judicial inconsistency, legal uncertainty, and challenging evidence. This essay provides a thorough critical critique of the JJ Act of 2015's age determination framework. The legislative framework governing juvenility, the hierarchy of evidence required for determining age, the development of judicial interpretation from seminal Supreme Court rulings to recent High Court rulings, and the systemic issues undermining the process—such as the lack of trustworthy documentation among marginalised communities and the issue with ossification testing—are all examined. The study assesses how well India's system upholds the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child's child-rights imperatives by drawing on comparative viewpoints from South Africa, the United States, and England and Wales. In order to improve the integrity, equity, and child-centeredness of the age determination process, it ends with a series of theological and policy proposals.