Bengaluru, 30 August 2026:
A powerful coalition of Karnataka’s top legal, health, and child welfare bodies wrapped up a major two-day summit today at the Karnataka Judicial Academy. Led by the High Court’s Juvenile Justice Committee, the meeting brought together key groups like UNICEF, NIMHANS, and the Department of Women and Child Development to completely refresh how the state protects vulnerable children.
The Juvenile Justice Committee of the High Court of Karnataka, alongside state authorities, NIMHANS, and UNICEF, concluded the Two-Day State-Level Annual Stakeholders Consultation 2026 at the Karnataka Judicial Academy in Bengaluru. The summit marked a decade of implementation for the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, serving as a platform to evaluate past performance and determine future child welfare frameworks.
The recent Bengaluru summit marked a decade since the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 came into force, under the theme “The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015—a decade of implementation and the way forward.” The milestone served as an opportunity for state leaders to evaluate past policies, identify system gaps, and shape future legal protections for children.
Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru of the High Court of Karnataka officially opened the summit on Saturday, 29 August 2026. In his role as the Patron-in-Chief of both the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority and the Karnataka Judicial Academy, Chief Justice Bakhru led the inaugural session to set the tone for the state’s updated child welfare and legal strategies.
Marking a decade since the enactment of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, Karnataka’s top legal and policy stakeholders have convened to evaluate institutional bottlenecks and standardise compliance frameworks for child protection.
Speaking at the annual consultation, High Court Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav emphasised the need to critically audit the last ten years of implementation to build a more robust, welfare-driven regulatory regime.
Highlighting the state’s push toward operational compliance, Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru unveiled three new statutory guides: a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the POCSO Act alongside specialized English and Kannada administrative handbooks designed for Child Welfare Committees.
Echoing the call for systemic refinement, Justice Narendra Prasad urged state agencies to leverage this ten-year milestone to pause, identify persistent operational challenges, and align best practices with future policy goals.
State departments and child welfare agencies in Bengaluru have committed to immediately executing new institutional action plans following a high-level legal summit. Citizens can access vital child protection services and legal aid by contacting the Childline helpline at 1098 or the NALSA helpline at 15100.
