Dated: 29th August 2026
The Hon’ble Juvenile Justice Committee of the Orissa High Court directed the Government of Odisha to have a systematic examination of the situation of children in conflict with law across the State. On request of the State Government, a study was commissioned by UNICEF Odisha and SIGMA Foundation was engaged for the assignment through a process of competitive bidding. The study has five objectives:
• Document the socio-economic profile, family background, and developmental history of the CCLs.
• Identify the causal factors- Individual, family, environmental, and structural factors.
• Examine the pattern of offences, including POCSO and recidivism.
• Understand children’s experience with the JJ system and perspectives shared by the parents and JJ system staff.
• Recommend a way forward
The study involved visiting all the 15 Homes for the children who allegedly come in conflict with law (seven Observation Homes, seven Special Homes, and one Place of Safety) spread across the districts of Sundargarh, Angul, Boudh, Kalahandi, Ganjam and Malkangiri. A mixed method approach with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was adopted for the study. Data collection involved – analyses of data from the 151 Case Files of the children in Conflict with Law (CCL) including the Social Investigation Reports (SIRs) which were available at the Homes visited, interaction with 300 alleged juvenile offenders who were at those homes during the visits and In-depth Interview of 64 of them selected purposely for representing various types of Cases, In-depth Interview of 30 parents and 4 siblings of the alleged CCLs and 64 key officials like judges, police officials, lawyers, officials of the homes and other duty bearers associated with the juvenile justice system.
A presentation on the key findings was made before the Hon’ble Juvenile Justice Committee on the 21st May, 2026 by the President, SIGMA Foundation and other officials of the organization. The findings were also presented before the Principal Secretary Women and Child Development Department of the Government of Odisha on the same day. Based on feedback received from the said discussions as well as from UNICEF, the report has been finalized and submitted to UNICEF for further necessary action. This is a unique study and is likely to be the first of its kind about the CCL. It brings out several issues which will help policy makers to address various issues of the children who come in conflict with law.