Gauhati High Court orders Juvenile Justice Boards to check adult jails in every Assam district for children
22 October 2026
The Gauhati High Court has told the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) of every district in Assam to visit adult jails by October 31, 2026 and find out whether any child is held there.
If a child is found, the Board must shift the child to a suitable home, as the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 requires.
The court noted that Section 8(3)(m) of the 2015 law already makes these visits a statutory duty of the Boards.
After this first round, the Boards should inspect jails regularly, preferably every three months.
Each Board reports to the District Legal Services Authority Secretary, who forwards it to the State-level body, the Assam State Legal Services Authority.
The court disposed of a public interest litigation filed by Nandinee Das with these directions.
In plain words
JJB Juvenile Justice Board — District-level body under the JJ Act, 2015 that deals with children in conflict with law.
JJ Act, 2015 Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 — Section 8(3)(m) requires JJBs to inspect adult jails regularly.
DLSA District Legal Services Authority — Receives the jail-visit reports in each district.
PIL Public Interest Litigation — The case was a PIL filed by Nandinee Das.