India, June 13 -- In a recent ruling, the Madras High Court dismissed a petition by the wife of a life convict seeking 21 days' leave for her husband so the couple could undergo fertility treatment. A child born to a life convict, the court reasoned, would grow up bearing the stigma of the parent's crime and the psychological harm society inflicts.

The judgment is striking less for what it decides than for what it reveals. A constitutional court has acknowledged, with unusual candour, the lifelong stigma borne by children of imprisoned parents. Thousands of real children already living with the consequences of incarceration remain at the margins of every child-protection framework.

The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 defines a child in need ...