In Kashmir’s crowded courtrooms and police stations, an unsettling reality often goes unnoticed: more and more children are entering spaces never meant for them. Behind every FIR against a minor lies a story of poverty, conflict, broken classrooms, and fragile homes, yet our response too often begins and ends with punishment. Juvenile justice, in spirit and in law, was never meant to be about retribution. It is supposed to be society’s last effort to rescue a child before we lose them to a life on the margins. India’s Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act provides a progressive framework. It recognises that children in conflict with the law and children in need of care and protection are often the same children at different stages of neglect. But the promise of the law is only as strong as its implementation. In many parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Juvenile Justice Boards are under‑resourced, observation homes lack trained counsellors, and police stations still remain the first point of contact instead of child protection units and social workers. This gap between law and life has grave consequences. A child picked up for petty theft or substance abuse may already be a victim of trauma, displacement, or economic distress. Exposing such a child to harsh proceedings, stigma, and casual brutality does not correct behaviour; it cements alienation. A system that brands minors as criminals, instead of treating them as rights‑holders, risks creating the very hardened offenders it claims to deter. We need a different imagination of justice for the young. That begins with strict adherence to the JJ Act: no child should be lodged in a police lock‑up or jail; their identity must be protected; their cases must be heard in child‑friendly spaces, with trained psychologists and probation officers at the table. Diversion, counselling, community service, and restorative dialogue with victims must become the norm, not the exception. Schools, panchayats, masjids, mohalla committees and civil society have a crucial role. Early identification of vulnerable children, de‑addiction support, mental health services, and skill‑building programmes can pull minors away from the edge long before the law enters their lives. The media, too, must exercise restraint and sensitivity, resisting the urge to sensationalise. A society is ultimately judged by how it treats its most vulnerable. When a child stands in the dock, it is not just the minor who is on trial; it is the moral compass of the adults around them. Kashmir cannot afford to let another generation grow up feeling that the state only knows how to punish, not to protect. Juvenile justice must become a bridge back to childhood, not a gateway to a lifetime of exclusion.
