Human rights of children born in judicial custody to incarcerated mothers: a socio-legal review of issues faced by these children in social adaptability and reintegration

Parental incarceration is a phenomenon where children are involuntarily put into disadvantaged positions. This is prominently observed in the complexity of the sociological impact of maternal incarceration on child's development. Irrespective of whether the child is born inside the judicial facility or left behind as a result of the incarceration of the mother, the child is affected in terms of psychosocial development, which leads to negative consequences. The objective of this paper is to explore different dimensions of incarceration of parents and focus on maternal incarceration to assess its impact on the social adaptability of the child. For the study an extensive review of the existing literature was conducted which had previously explored the different dimensions of maternal incarceration and child development. The finding is relevant in terms of policy-making for the different stakeholders of the Indian justice system to ensure a healthy developmental niche the mother and the child.