Maintenance for wife, children and parents: how to claim it
A wife, children or parents who cannot support themselves can ask a Magistrate to order monthly maintenance from a husband, father or son who has enough means, under Section 144 of the BNSS. Interim maintenance can be ordered while the case runs.
Who can claim
Under Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (earlier Section 125 of the CrPC), a person with sufficient means who neglects or refuses to maintain them can be ordered to pay monthly maintenance to:
- his wife who cannot maintain herself (this includes a divorced wife who has not remarried);
- his children, whether born in or outside marriage: minor children, and adult children who cannot maintain themselves because of a physical or mental disability;
- his father or mother who cannot maintain themselves.
The law applies to people of every religion.
How to apply
- File an application before the Family Court, or the Magistrate where there is no Family Court, in the district where you live, where he lives, or where you last lived together.
- State your expenses, his income and property, and that he has neglected or refused to maintain you.
- Following the Supreme Court’s judgment in Rajnesh v. Neha (2020), both sides must file an affidavit disclosing their assets and liabilities, so the court can fix a fair amount.
Interim maintenance
You can ask for interim maintenance, a monthly amount paid while the case is pending, along with the costs of the case. The law says this application should be decided, as far as possible, within 60 days of notice being served.
How much
There is no fixed upper limit. The court considers the income and assets of both sides, the claimant’s reasonable needs and standard of living, and the payer’s other responsibilities.
If he doesn’t pay
The court can recover the unpaid amount like a fine, including by attaching property, and can send the defaulter to prison for each month’s unpaid amount until it is paid (Section 144(3)).
Other laws that also give maintenance
- The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (monetary relief): see our guide on protection from domestic violence.
- The Hindu Marriage Act and Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, during or after a divorce case.
- For parents and senior citizens, the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 through the Maintenance Tribunal.
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