Child in need of Care and Protection under Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 (Amended 2021)

child in need of care and protection means a child

i. who is found without any home or settled place or abode and without any ostensible means of subsistence,


ii. who resides with a person (whether a guardian of the child or not) and such person

a. has threatened to kill or injure the child and there is a reasonable likelihood of the threat being carried out, or

b. has killed, abused or neglected some other child or children and there is a reasonable likelihood of the child in question being killed, abused or neglected by that person,

iii. who is mentally or physically challenged or ill children or children suffering from terminal diseases or incurable diseases having no one to support or look after,

iv. who has a parent or guardian and such parent or guardian is unfit or incapacitated to exercise control over the child,

v. who does not have parent and no one is willing to take care of or whose parents have abandoned him or who is missing and run away child and whose parents cannot be found after reasonable injury,

vi. who is being or is likely to be grossly abused, tortured or exploited for the purpose of sexual abuse or illegal acts,

vii. who is found vulnerable and is likely to be inducted into drug abuse or trafficking,

viii. who is being or is likely to be abused for unconscionable gains,

ix. who is victim of any armed conflict, civil commotion or natural calamity;


In simple words Street children, Orphaned, abandoned and destitute Children, Working children, Abused children, Children who are victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking, Children engaging in substance abuse, Children in conflict and disaster situations,
Children in families ‘atrisk, Differentlyabled children and Mentally ill children
HIV / AIDSaffected / infected children