law: Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 
  2. Definitions.- 
  In this Act, unless
  
  the context otherwise requires,
  a.     
  
    "advisory
  
  board" means a Central or a State advisory board or a district and city
  
  level advisory board, as the case may be, constituted under section 62;
  aa.  
  
    "adoption"
  
  means the process through which the adopted child is permanently separated from
  
  his biological parents and become the legitimate child of his adoptive parents
  
  with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities that are attached to the
  
  relationship.
  a.    
  
  
  b.    
  
    "begging"
  
  means - 
               
  
   i.        
  
    soliciting
  
  or receiving alms in a public place or entering into any private premises for
  
  the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms, whether under any pretence;
              
  
   ii.        
  
    exposing
  
  or exhibiting with the object of obtaining or extorting alms, any sore, wound,
  
  injury, deformity or disease, whether of himself or of any other person or of
  
  an animal;
  a.     
  
  
  b.     
  
  
  c.     
  
    "Board"
  
  means a Juvenile Justice Board constituted under section 4;
  d.    
  
    "child
  
  in need of care and protection" means a child - 
               
  
   i.        
  
    who
  
  is found without any home or settled place or abode and without any ostensible
  
  means of subsistence,
             
  
   ia.        
  
    who
  
  is found begging, or who is either a street child or a working child,[
              
  
   i.        
  
  
              
  
   ii.        
  
    who
  
  resides with a person (whether a guardian of the child or not) and such person-
  a.     
  
    has
  
  threatened to kill or injure the child and there is a reasonable likelihood of
  
  the threat being carried out, or
  b.    
  
    has
  
  killed, abused or neglected some other child or children and there is a
  
  reasonable likelihood of the child in question being killed, abused or
  
  neglected by that person.
             
  
   i.        
  
  
             
  
   ii.        
  
  
             
  
   iii.        
  
    who
  
  is mentally or physically challenged or ill children or children suffering from
  
  terminal diseases or incurable diseases having no one to support or look after,
  
  
             
  
   iv.        
  
    who
  
  has a parent or guardian and such parent or guardian is unfit or incapacitated
  
  to exercise control over the child,
              
  
   v.        
  
    who
  
  does not have parent and no one is willing to take care of or whose parents
  
  have abandoned or surrendered him or who is missing and run away child and
  
  whose parents cannot be found after reasonable inquiry,
             
  
   vi.        
  
    who
  
  is being or is likely to be grossly abused, tortured or exploited for the
  
  purpose of sexual abuse or illegal acts,
            
  
   vii.        
  
    who
  
  is found vulnerable and is likely to be inducted into drug abuse or
  
  trafficking,
           
  
   viii.        
  
    who
  
  is being or is likely to be abused for unconscionable gains.
             
  
   ix.        
  
    who
  
  is victim of any armed conflict civil commotion or natural calamity;
  a.     
  
  
  b.     
  
  
  c.     
  
  
  d.     
  
  
  e.     
  
    "children's
  
  home" means an institution established by a State Government or by
  
  voluntary organization and certified by that Government under section 34;
  f.     
  
    "Committee"
  
  means a Child Welfare Committee constituted under section 29;
  g.    
  
    "competent
  
  authority" means in relation to children in need of care and protection a
  
  Committee and in relation to juveniles in conflict with law a Board;
  h.     
  
    "fit
  
  institution" means a governmental or a registered non-governmental
  
  organization or a voluntary organization prepared to own the responsibility of
  
  a child and such organization is found fit by the State Government on the
  
  recommendation of the competent authority;
  i.      
  
    "fit
  
  persons" means a person, being a social worker or any other person who is
  
  prepared to own the responsibility of a child and is found fit by the competent
  
  authority to receive and take care of the child,
  j.      
  
    "guardian",
  
  in relation to a child, means his natural guardian or any other person having
  
  the actual charge or control over the child and recognized by the competent
  
  authority as a guardian in course of proceedings before that authority;
  k.     
  
    "juvenile"
  
  or "child" means a person who has not completed eighteenth year of
  
  age;
  l.      
  
    "juvenile
  
  in conflict with law" means a juvenile who is alleged to have committed an
  
  offence and has not completed eighteenth year of age as on the date of
  
  commission of such offence;
  m.   
  
    Omitted
  
  vide Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2006,
  
  section 3
  n.     
  
    "narcotic
  
  drug" and "psychotropic substance" shall have the meaning
  
  respectively assigned to them in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
  
  Act, 1985 (61 of 1985);
  o.    
  
    "observation
  
  home" means a home established by a State Government or by a voluntary
  
  organization and certified by that State Government under section 8 as an
  
  observation home for the juvenile in conflict with law;
  p.    
  
    "offence"
  
  means an offence punishable under any law for the time being in force;
  q.    
  
    "place
  
  of safety" means any place or institution (not being a police lockup or
  
  jail), the person incharge of which is willing temporarily to receive and take
  
  care of the juvenile and which, in the opinion of the competent authority, may
  
  be a place of safety for the juvenile;
  r.      
  
    "prescribed"
  
  means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
  s.     
  
    "probation
  
  officer" means an officer appointed by the State Government as a probation
  
  officer under the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 (20 of 1958);
  t.      
  
    "public
  
  place" shall have the meaning assigned to it in the Immoral Traffic
  
  (Prevention) Act, 1956 (104 of 1956);
  u.     
  
    "shelter
  
  home" means a home or a drop-in-center set up under section 37;
  v.     
  
    "special
  
  home" means an institution established by a State Government or by a
  
  voluntary organization and certified by that Government under section 9;
  w.    
  
    "special
  
  juvenile police unit" means a unit of the police force of a State
  
  designated for handling of juveniles or children under section 63;
  x.     
  
    "State
  
  Government" in relation to a Union territory, means the Administrator of
  
  the Union territory appointed by the President under article 239 of the
  
  Constitution;
  y.     
  
    all
  
  words and expressions used but not defined in this Act and Defined in the Code
  
  of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), shall have the meaning respectively
  
  assigned to them in that Code.
  Subsections (aa), d(ia), (l) inserted and
  
  sub-section d(v) and (h) modified vide Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
  
  Children) Amendment Act, 2006, section 4