What the Law Says When a Child Is Arrested in Pakistan

A child arrested in Pakistan may not be kept in a police station or a jail under any circumstances. A lawyer must explain his rights to him within twenty four hours, and the State pays for that lawyer.

Those are not guidelines. They are sections of the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018, and they apply from the moment of arrest.

We read the Act on 11 September 2026, in the text published by the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department, Government of the Punjab.

What happens in the first day

The lawyer appointed must have at least seven years standing at the Bar, so this is not a formality met by any available name.

Custody is the part people get wrong

Section 5 says the arrested juvenile shall be kept in an observation home, and that the officer in charge of the police station shall inform the guardian and the probation officer as soon as possible.

Section 6 goes further and closes the gap in plain words. The juvenile shall not under any circumstances be kept in a police station under police custody or jail.

Section 5 also bars a route that would otherwise sidestep all of this. No juvenile shall be arrested under any of the laws dealing with preventive detention, or under the provisions of Chapter VIII of the Code.

That matters because preventive detention is exactly the category that removes the ordinary safeguards for adults. For a child, the Act shuts it off entirely.

Bail is the default, not the exception

The Act reverses the assumption most families arrive with.

A juvenile accused of a bailable offence shall be released by the Juvenile Court on bail, with or without surety, unless there are reasonable grounds to believe release would bring him into association with criminals or expose him to danger. Even then he goes to a suitable person or a rehabilitation centre under a probation officer, not to a cell.

Then comes the provision that does the real work. Where a juvenile is arrested or detained for a minor or a major offence, he shall be treated as if he was accused of a bailable offence.

So the bailable or non bailable label that governs an adult case does not carry across. Only a heinous offence, and only where the juvenile is more than sixteen, allows the court to refuse bail on reasonable grounds.

The six month rule

1. The juvenile has been detained for a continuous period exceeding six months.
2. His trial has not been completed.
3. The delay was not caused by him or by anyone acting on his behalf.
4. The delay was not caused by exercising a right or privilege under any law.
5. He shall be released on bail.

Read the conditions together. This is not a discretion the court may exercise. Where those facts exist, the Act says the juvenile shall be released.

That makes the record of what caused each adjournment worth keeping from the first hearing, because it is the thing the rule turns on.

How age is decided

Everything above depends on the person being treated as a juvenile, so the Act sets out how that is established rather than leaving it to appearance.

Where a person appears to be or claims to be a juvenile, the officer in charge or the investigation officer shall inquire into age on the basis of the birth certificate, educational certificates or any other pertinent document. Only in the absence of such documents may age be determined by a medical examination report.

And when such a person is brought before a court for further detention, the court shall record its findings on age before granting it, on the available record including the police report or the medical report.

So documents come first and the medical route is the fallback. Our guide to registering a child and getting a B Form covers the document that settles this question fastest.

What can never be done to a child in custody

Section 16 is short and absolute at the top. No person who was a juvenile at the time of the offence shall be awarded the punishment of death.

It continues that no juvenile offender shall be committed to prison, ordered to labour, put in fetters, handcuffed, or given any corporal punishment at any time while in custody.

There is one narrow exception and it is worth reading precisely. Where there is reasonable apprehension of escape, the juvenile is over sixteen and involved in a heinous offence or previously convicted of an offence punishable with life, then for reasons to be recorded he may be handcuffed or placed in solitary confinement in a rehabilitation centre or observation home, for a period not exceeding twenty four hours.

Section 17 adds protections for girls. No female juvenile shall in any circumstances be apprehended or investigated by a male police officer, or released on probation under the supervision of a male officer, and she may only be kept in a centre certified exclusively for female inmates.

Naming a child is an offence

Section 13 carries a penalty that is heavier than most people expect, and it applies to anyone, not only to journalists.

Printing or publishing the name of a juvenile, or any matter which may make his identity known, is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three years and a fine. Publishing anything about proceedings before a Juvenile Court, without the court's previous permission, carries up to two years and a fine.

The exceptions are narrow. A written order of the investigating officer acting in good faith for the investigation, or written authorisation from the juvenile or his next of kin, and a next of kin may only authorise the head of a recognised welfare institution.

In an age of forwarded messages, that section reaches a great deal of ordinary behaviour.

Trial, appeal and afterwards

No juvenile may be charged with and tried together with an adult, unless the Juvenile Court is satisfied that a joint trial is in the interests of justice. Where there is a joint trial, the court may allow the juvenile to attend through an audio visual link without anyone applying for it.

A guardian may file the appeal on the juvenile's behalf. An appeal against acquittal must be brought within thirty days.

Section 19 is the one that matters years later. A juvenile offender convicted under this Act shall not suffer a disqualification attaching to a conviction of that offence. So the conviction is not meant to follow him into every form he fills for the rest of his life.

Our guide to your rights when you are arrested covers the constitutional position that applies to adults, and our guide to getting a free lawyer in Punjab covers legal aid more widely. Our guide to checking a court case online covers following the case.

Common questions

Can a child be kept in a police station in Pakistan?

No. The Act says a juvenile shall not under any circumstances be kept in a police station under police custody or jail.

Does the family have to pay for a lawyer?

No. Every juvenile and every child victim of an offence has the right to legal assistance at the expense of the State.

How quickly must a lawyer see the child?

A legal practitioner must inform the juvenile of his rights within twenty four hours of him being taken into custody.

Can a child get bail?

A juvenile arrested for a minor or major offence is treated as if accused of a bailable offence. Only a heinous offence with the juvenile over sixteen allows refusal.

Can a child be handcuffed?

Not ordinarily. Only where he is over sixteen, involved in a heinous offence or previously convicted of a life offence, there is apprehension of escape, and reasons are recorded, for up to twenty four hours.

Can a child offender be sentenced to death?

No. No person who was a juvenile at the time of the offence may be awarded the punishment of death.

Last checked and sources

Last checked 11 September 2026. We downloaded the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018 from the Punjab Code portal at punjablaws.punjab.gov.pk, in the text published by the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department, Government of the Punjab, and read it. Section 3 giving every juvenile and every child victim of an offence the right to legal assistance at the expense of the State, requiring a legal practitioner to inform a juvenile of his rights within twenty four hours of being taken into custody, and requiring that practitioner to have at least seven years standing at the Bar; section 5 requiring the arrested juvenile to be kept in an observation home, requiring the officer in charge to inform the guardian of the arrest with the time, date and name of the Juvenile Court and to inform the probation officer, and barring arrest under preventive detention laws or Chapter VIII of the Code; section 6 requiring release on bail for a bailable offence with or without surety, barring custody in a police station or jail under any circumstances, treating a juvenile arrested for a minor or major offence as if accused of a bailable offence, permitting refusal of bail only where a juvenile over sixteen is involved in a heinous offence on reasonable grounds, and requiring release on bail after a continuous period exceeding six months where the trial is incomplete and the delay was not occasioned by the juvenile or anyone on his behalf; section 7 requiring interrogation by an officer not below the rank of Sub Inspector under the supervision of a Superintendent of Police or SDPO, assisted by a probation or social welfare officer; section 8 on determination of age from a birth certificate, educational certificates or other pertinent documents with medical examination only in their absence, and requiring a court to record findings on age before granting further detention; section 12 barring joint trial with an adult except in the interests of justice and allowing attendance by audio visual link; section 13 punishing publication of a juvenile's name or identifying matter with up to three years and a fine, and publication about proceedings without the court's permission with up to two years and a fine, subject to the stated exceptions; section 16 barring the death penalty for anyone who was a juvenile at the time of the offence and barring committal to prison, labour, fetters, handcuffs and corporal punishment, with the narrow recorded exception of up to twenty four hours for a juvenile over sixteen where escape is apprehended; section 17 barring apprehension or investigation of a female juvenile by a male police officer and requiring exclusively female facilities; section 18 on appeal including by a guardian and a thirty day appeal against acquittal; and section 19 removing the disqualification attaching to a conviction, are all taken from that text. The Act commenced on 18 May 2018 and repealed the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000; amendments by Act No. III of 2022 are noted in the published text. Nothing here is legal advice, and anyone whose child has been arrested should speak to a lawyer immediately.