Court warns that misuse of a protective law can invert justice: Justice Sanjay Karol wrote that when a law with “noble” intent is misused as a tool for revenge, the notion of justice “teeters on the edge of inversion” and courts have sounded alarm about this situation.

Court highlights unequal ability to use the legal system: The court pointed to a gap between child survivors who are silenced by fear and constrained by poverty or stigma and privileged people with literacy and social and monetary capital who can manipulate the law to their advantage.

Age determination should follow a documentary-first hierarchy: The Supreme Court referred to Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, which prioritises documentary evidence such as school or municipal certificates to establish age and allows medical testing only as a last resort.