How to File a Maintenance Claims in India 2026: Section 144 BNSS Guide

Key Takeaways

• Section 125 CrPC is now Section 144 BNSS under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023. All maintenance rights of wives, children, and parents remain fully intact under the new law.
• A working wife can still claim maintenance if her income is substantially lower than her husband’s. Courts look at financial disparity, not just whether she earns anything.
• Interim maintenance (antrim bharan poshan) must now be decided within 60 days of service of notice under Section 144(2) BNSS, a protection that did not exist under the old CrPC.
• Minor children, whether born inside or outside marriage, can claim maintenance from their father. Adult children with physical or mental disabilities are also eligible.
• If the payer ignores a court order, enforcement options include salary attachment, bank freeze, property seizure, arrest warrant, and imprisonment of up to one month per default.

What is a Maintenance Case? (भरण-पोषण का केस क्या होता है)

A maintenance case is a legal proceeding filed by a financially dependent person to claim monthly financial support from the person responsible for their upkeep. It is not charity. It is a legal right.

In India, maintenance is primarily governed by Section 144 BNSS, which directly replaces Section 125 CrPC. Every protection under the old law continues. The provision is secular and applies to all religions and communities equally. Personal laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, the Domestic Violence Act 2005, and the Special Marriage Act 1954 provide additional routes and can be used alongside Section 144 BNSS, depending on the facts.

A maintenance case is filed as a Criminal Miscellaneous Petition (MC petition) before a Judicial Magistrate First Class or a Family Court. Many people ask whether a maintenance case is civil or criminal. The correct answer is that it is filed under criminal procedure but serves a civil purpose, which is providing financial relief, not punishment.

Who Can File a Maintenance Case? (भरण-पोषण का दावा कौन कर सकता है)

Wife: A legally married or separated wife who cannot maintain herself can file against her husband. A divorced wife can also claim maintenance unless she has remarried or accepted a full settlement. The Supreme Court in Rajnesh v. Neha (2021) directed courts to look at the husband’s complete income, including undisclosed income, when fixing the amount.

Can a working wife claim maintenance? 

Yes. Courts do not automatically deny maintenance because the wife earns. If her income is significantly lower than her husband’s and she cannot maintain the same standard of living as during the marriage, she remains eligible.

Can maintenance be claimed without divorce? 

Yes. A wife can file for maintenance (भरण-पोषण) while still married if her husband neglects or refuses to support her. Divorce is not a precondition.

Can maintenance be claimed after divorce? 

Yes. A divorced wife retains the right to claim maintenance under Section 144 BNSS until she remarries (क्या बिना तलाक के पत्नी को भरण-पोषण मिल सकता है). Separation is the trigger, not the divorce decree itself.

Children: Both legitimate and illegitimate minor children can claim maintenance from their father. Adult children with physical or mental disabilities are also entitled. A father’s obligation to support his children does not end because the mother is working.

Parents: Elderly parents, biological or adoptive, who cannot maintain themselves can file against their children, both sons and daughters, under Section 144 BNSS and the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007.

Husband (rare cases): A husband unable to earn due to disability may seek maintenance from a financially independent wife under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act.

Documents Required for a Maintenance Case

Getting the right documents together before filing strengthens your petition considerably. Courts in 2026 follow the Rajnesh v. Neha guidelines requiring income affidavit disclosure from both parties. The standard documents needed for a maintenance court application are: proof of marriage such as the marriage certificate, photographs, or invitation cards; proof of residence for establishing jurisdiction; proof of the husband’s income through salary slips, bank statements, or IT returns; records of monthly expenses covering rent, school fees, and medical bills; the child’s birth certificate if claiming on behalf of children; and any existing court orders related to the marriage.

Documents do not need to be complete at filing. Courts can direct the respondent to produce income records if they are being withheld. What matters is establishing the relationship and the financial dependency.

Step-by-Step Maintenance Case Procedure

Step 1: Consult a family law advocate – The advocate determines which provision to file under, whether Section 144 BNSS, Section 24 HMA for maintenance pending suit, or the Domestic Violence Act for protection alongside monetary relief.

Step 2: Draft and file the maintenance petition – The MC petition sets out the relationship, the husband’s income, the petitioner’s financial dependency, monthly expenses, and relief sought. It is filed before the Judicial Magistrate First Class or Family Court where the applicant resides or where the couple last lived.

Step 3: Notice to the respondent – The court issues a notice to the other party. The 60-day clock for interim maintenance begins from the date of service under Section 144(2) BNSS.

Step 4: Apply for interim maintenance – The petitioner should immediately apply for interim maintenance during the pendency of the case. Courts must decide this within 60 days of notice being served. In urgent situations, ad-interim maintenance can be granted on the very first date of hearing.

Step 5: Reply and income disclosure – The respondent files a reply, and both parties submit income and asset affidavits. Courts treat income concealment seriously after the Rajnesh v. Neha judgment.

Step 6: Framing of issues – The court identifies the key factual and legal disputes before evidence begins.

Step 7: Evidence by the petitioner – The petitioner files documents, produces witnesses, and undergoes cross-examination by the respondent’s advocate.

Step 8: Evidence provided by the respondent – The respondent leads their evidence and faces cross-examination.

Step 9: Final arguments. Both sides argue the case before the Magistrate.

Step 10: Court order (maintenance case stages conclusion) – The Magistrate passes a final order fixing the monthly maintenance amount, the date from which it is payable (often retrospective to the application date), and the payment mode.

How Much Maintenance Can You Claim? (कितनी भरण-पोषण राशि मिल सकती है)

There is no fixed formula or ceiling. Courts apply the Rajnesh v. Neha (2021) Supreme Court framework, which considers the husband’s net income from all sources, the wife’s own earnings and earning capacity, the standard of living during the marriage, the number of dependents of the payer, and the petitioner’s actual monthly expenses on food, rent, education, and medical care. A benchmark of roughly 25% of the husband’s net salary is commonly applied as a starting point for wives. Children’s expenses are calculated separately and added on top. Courts can go higher depending on the husband’s income and the household’s established lifestyle.

What Happens If the Husband Refuses to Pay?

Non-compliance with a court maintenance order (अगर पति भरण-पोषण देने से मना करे) triggers enforcement under Section 144 BNSS. The court can attach and deduct directly from his salary, freeze bank accounts, seize and sell movable or immovable property, issue an arrest warrant, and sentence him to up to one month’s imprisonment per default. Civil imprisonment does not cancel the maintenance liability. The debt continues to accumulate and is fully recoverable even after the imprisonment period ends.

Is a Maintenance Case Civil or Criminal?

A maintenance case under Section 144 BNSS is filed as a Criminal Miscellaneous Petition and follows criminal procedure. Its purpose, however, is to deliver financial relief, not punishment. This hybrid character is precisely why courts treat maintenance cases with urgency and mandate the 60-day interim timeline.

Maintenance for Parents and Senior Citizens

Parents who cannot support themselves can file under Section 144 BNSS or the Senior Citizens Act 2007. Both sons and daughters can be named as respondents. A parent does not have to choose between the two laws and can pursue both simultaneously. The Maintenance Tribunal under the Senior Citizens Act often provides faster relief than a Magistrate’s court.

Conclusion

Maintenance law in India gives real, enforceable rights to every dependent spouse, child, and parent. The shift from Section 125 CrPC to Section 144 BNSS has only strengthened those rights, adding the 60-day interim deadline and mandatory income disclosure requirements. Whether you are filing a bharan poshan ka case for the first time, seeking interim relief urgently, or enforcing a court order that is being ignored, the legal tools available in 2026 are strong and practical.

If your matter involves divorce alongside maintenance, our guides on the divorce filing process in India and void and voidable marriages cover the connected legal issues in detail. If a second marriage is involved, read about second marriage without divorce consequences and restitution of conjugal rights as well.

For dedicated legal support on maintenance cases in Gurgaon, Delhi, and Ghaziabad, contact the best divorce lawyer in Gurgaon, the best divorce lawyer in Delhi, or the best divorce lawyer in Ghaziabad at Advocate Preeti JD, Associates and Solicitors.

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