In spite of various constitutional provisions, other legal frameworks and government social measures; abandoned children in India are still remaining highly vulnerable within the society. The legal framework presents in the Constitution of India, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 along with adoption regulations including foster care guidelines offers broad protection in theory because implementation challenges undermine their effectiveness. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing laws and policy framework for welfare and security of abandoned children. It identifies these systematic gaps and proposes targeted reforms to ensure better real-world outcomes for the abandoned children. Despite this prevalent comprehensive juvenile justice framework, the enforcement and implementation of these laws remain fragmented. There are various challenges in this regard that include underidentification of children, inadequate institutional infrastructure, low-utilization of family based care and inconsistent State level coordination. Limited trained personnel and weak monitoring further hinder effective child protection in such cases. Strengthening child protection requires targeted reforms to address these key challenges. This includes use of technology for tracking, prioritizing foster and kinship care; and improving inter-agency coordination.
Maninderjit Kaur (Mon,) studied this question.