‘Children Are Citizens Of Today’: CJI Surya Kant Emphasizes Child-Centric Response To Drug Abuse

Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on Saturday emphasised that children affected by substance abuse must be treated primarily as children in need of care and protection, rather than being defined by addiction or a period of vulnerability.

Addressing a national seminar on “Restoring Childhood – Preventing Drug Abuse and Re-integration of Children in Need of Care and Protection” at Bihar Lok Bhawan in Patna, the CJI said drug abuse among children should be understood not merely as a public health issue but equally as a child-protection concern.

Justice Kant stressed that when a child encounters intoxicating substances, the consequences extend beyond health. Education may be interrupted, family relationships may become strained and the child may become more vulnerable to exploitation, violence, trafficking and other forms of abuse.

The CJI has cautioned against reducing children to the circumstances that brought them into contact with drugs. Referring to an August 2026 study published in The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia, Justice Kant noted that more than one in five adolescents in India were estimated to be at moderate-to-high risk of substance use. He, however, emphasised that statistics should not obscure the individual circumstances of children.

"But numbers, important as they are, cannot tell the whole story. Behind every number is a child whose circumstance is deeper from another. One may have encountered drugs through peer influence. Another may have grown up where substance use was already present. Another may have faced neglect, abuse, homelessness or deprivation. Some may have dropped out of school. Others remained in school but withdrew from family and community life. The point I wish to emphasize is that the different pathways into vulnerability call for responses that recognize those differences. This is why we must resist the tendency to define a child by the problem that has brought the child before us. The fact that a child has used a substance tells us something but it does not tell us everything. It does not tell us what the child had experienced, what circumstances existed before the substance use began, what dangers may still surround the child, or what kind of support will make recoverable possible," the CJI said.

The CJI also drew a distinction between children affected by substance abuse and those who exploit children or facilitate the circulation of drugs. While the law must respond firmly to persons who exploit children, he said the questions are different when the system encounters a child struggling with substance use. In such cases, the focus should be on safety, treatment, counselling and rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation Must Go Beyond De-addiction

Justice Kant said de-addiction cannot be treated merely as a clinical exercise. Medical treatment must be accompanied by counselling, mental-health support, a safe environment and sustained engagement with the child and family, he added.

CJI emphasised that restoration of childhood does not mean erasing the harm already suffered. instead, it means creating conditions in which children can once again experience education, relationships, play, trust and confidence in their future. The CJI further highlighted the importance of ensuring continuity of education during rehabilitation. Merely removing a child from a harmful environment, he said, would not be sufficient if the child is left without access to education or a secure social environment.

He also cautioned that returning a child to a family cannot automatically be regarded as successful reintegration if the family itself was responsible for neglect, violence or substance abuse.

‘Protection Should Not End With Rescue’

Justice Kant called for sustained support after treatment, stressing that rehabilitation should ultimately restore a child's place within the family, school and community.

He said families, schools, teachers, healthcare professionals and community workers can play a crucial role in identifying children at risk before vulnerability develops into a crisis. The judiciary, government, police, health and education systems, child-care institutions, legal services authorities, academia and civil society must work together, he said.

The CJI also underscored the importance of confidentiality and dignity. A child, he said, should not have to carry a permanent label because of a period of vulnerability. Stigma or humiliation could discourage children from seeking assistance and could undermine the very institutions meant to protect them.

He observed that access to justice begins well before a matter reaches a courtroom, including by ensuring that children, parents and teachers know where assistance can be sought and understand the legal protections available to them.

Concluding his address, the CJI said children should not be viewed merely as citizens of the future. “Children are not merely future citizens; they are equally citizens of today,” he said, stressing their entitlement to safety, dignity, education, care and the opportunity to grow.

Justice Kant has called for a system in which no child is reduced to a diagnosis, case number, past mistake or period of susceptibility, and where protection continues beyond rescue, treatment beyond discharge and rehabilitation beyond the child's return to society.