(1) As soon as a child alleged to be in conflict with law is apprehended by the police, he shall be placed under the charge of the special juvenile police unit or the designated child welfare police officer, who shall produce the child before the Board without any loss of time but within a period of twenty-four hours of its apprehending excluding the time necessary for the journey:
Provided that in no case, a child alleged to be in conflict with law shall be placed in a police lockup or lodged in a jail.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 10
Section 10 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 lays down rigorous procedural safeguards governing the apprehension of a child, strictly outlawing police lock-ups, adult jails, and coercive police methods.
Crucially, the proviso to sub-section (1) contains an absolute statutory bar: in no case shall a child alleged to be in conflict with law be placed in a police lock-up or lodged in a jail. Sub-section (2) further mandates that the state government must provide child-friendly infrastructure, ensuring the child is kept in an observation home or fit facility until production before the Board.
Section 10 completely divorces juvenile apprehension from adult arrest. Police officers are statutorily prohibited from handcuffing children, wearing uniforms during apprehension, or lodging them in lock-ups. Any incarceration of a juvenile in a police station lock-up constitutes an actionable violation of Article 21 and invites immediate contempt and departmental proceedings.