CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION WITH REFERENCE TO THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY

India’s criminal justice system stands at a crossroads where constitutional ideals meet deeply entrenched social biases — and nowhere is this tension more visible than in how the system treats members of the LGBTQ+ community. This paper critically examines the structural and institutional failures that continue to subject LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly transgender persons and hijras, to harassment, arbitrary detention, and systemic exclusion — even after landmark judicial reforms.

Tracing the historical roots of discrimination from colonial-era penal codes to the present day, this study analyses the transformative impact of Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018), the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and a series of evolving judicial pronouncements that have gradually expanded the constitutional protections available to LGBTQ+ individuals. The paper draws comparative insights from Canada’s progressive rights framework, which offers instructive lessons in translating legal recognition into lived equality.

Through an analysis of policing practices, judicial conduct, prison conditions, and state-level welfare policies, this paper demonstrates that formal legal gains have not yet translated into substantive justice. Widespread moral policing, the misuse of broadly worded statutory provisions, and the near-total absence of hate crime protections leave LGBTQ+ persons vulnerable to violence and institutional indifference. The paper argues that transforming the criminal justice system requires far more than decriminalisation — it demands mandatory sensitivity training for law enforcement, explicit anti-discrimination safeguards, gender-affirming prison protocols, and robust mechanisms to hold institutions accountable. Only through structural reform can India ensure that its constitutional promise of equality becomes a reality for every citizen, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Keywords: LGBTQ+, Criminal Justice Administration, Section 377, Transgender Rights, Navtej Singh Johar, Discrimination, Policing, Human Rights, India, Constitutional Law