Revisiting India’s Rehabilitative Approach to Juvenile Justice: Reflections One Year After the Pune Porsche Case

The 2024 Pune Porsche Accident sparked a nationwide debate over India’s juvenile justice system's ability to strike a balance between accountability and rehabilitation, especially for privileged delinquents. This paper closely examines Sections 15 and 18 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, highlights the role of procedural gaps and the impact of the absence of minimum sentencing in offences like Section 304 IPC in limiting meaningful accountability. The paper employs doctrinal analysis and compares domestic implementation with international approaches—including the notable Ethan Couch case—to demonstrate how current rehabilitative measures may inadvertently shield privileged juveniles from appropriate consequences. Finally, it offers recommendations drawn from international judicial systems, aiming to resolve the loopholes in the present juvenile justice system, advocating the need for nuanced approaches that ensure accountability without compromising the reformative goals of juvenile justice.