Maintenance for a Wife and Children: Rights and How to Claim (2026)
The right to maintenance for a wife, children and parents, the forums, interim maintenance, the disclosure affidavit, and how to claim it under the BNSS and the personal laws. Last verified October 2026.
How-to · Family · Maintenance
A wife, child or parent who cannot support themselves has a right to maintenance from the person legally bound to provide it. The main all-religion remedy is now Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which replaced Section 125 of the old CrPC from 1 July 2024. There are also remedies under the personal laws. This guide explains who can claim, the forums, interim maintenance, the disclosure affidavit, and how to make the claim. Last verified October 2026.
- Secular remedy: Section 144 of the BNSS, which replaced Section 125 of the CrPC from 1 July 2024, lets a wife, children and parents claim maintenance regardless of religion.
- Personal law too: remedies also exist under the Hindu Marriage Act (ss.24-25), the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (s.18), the Special Marriage Act (ss.36-37), and the Domestic Violence Act (s.20).
- Interim support: the court can order interim maintenance while the case runs, and both sides must file an affidavit of assets and income (Rajnesh v. Neha, 2020).
- Amount: there is no fixed formula. The court weighs the needs of the claimant against the income and liabilities of the person who must pay.
01Who can claim maintenance
The secular remedy covers a defined set of dependants. Under the law, maintenance can be claimed by a wife who cannot maintain herself, including a divorced wife who has not remarried, by legitimate and illegitimate children who cannot maintain themselves, and by parents who are unable to support themselves.
For children, the entitlement of a minor child is strong, and in practice the real dispute is usually about the amount rather than whether the child is entitled. The right is based on the inability of the claimant to maintain themselves, set against the ability of the person who must pay.
02The secular remedy: Section 144 BNSS
Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is the main all-religion remedy for maintenance. It carries forward, in nearly the same terms, the power that Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 gave a Magistrate, and it took effect on 1 July 2024.
The remedy is secular, which means it is open to a claimant of any religion. It is a quick, summary way to secure a monthly allowance, and it sits alongside, not instead of, any remedy under personal law.
| Point | Old law (CrPC) | New law (BNSS) |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance order | Section 125 | Section 144 |
| Procedure and jurisdiction | Section 126 | Section 145 |
| Alteration of the allowance | Section 127 | Section 146 |
| Enforcement against a defaulter | Section 128 | Section 147 |
Cases filed before 1 July 2024 continue under the CrPC, while fresh claims go under the BNSS, so both are in live use for now.
03The personal-law remedies
Besides the secular remedy, the personal laws provide their own maintenance rights:
- Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: Section 24 allows interim maintenance and expenses of the proceeding during a matrimonial case, and Section 25 allows permanent alimony.
- Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956: Section 18 gives a Hindu wife a right to maintenance from her husband.
- Special Marriage Act, 1954: Sections 36 and 37 provide for maintenance and alimony in marriages under that Act.
- Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005: Section 20 allows a magistrate to order monetary relief, including maintenance.
A claimant can choose the remedy that fits, and courts try to avoid double recovery by adjusting one award against another.
04Interim maintenance
A maintenance case can take time, so the court can order interim maintenance to support the claimant while the case runs. This is money paid from an early stage, so that a wife or child is not left without support during the litigation.
The Supreme Court has stressed that interim maintenance should be decided quickly and fairly, because delay defeats the very purpose of the remedy.
05The disclosure affidavit
In Rajnesh v. Neha (2020), the Supreme Court made the disclosure of finances a formal step. Both parties must file an affidavit of their assets, income and liabilities, so that the court can decide a fair amount on real figures rather than guesswork.
The Court also gave guidelines to bring consistency to maintenance orders across the country, including on the date from which maintenance runs and on avoiding overlapping awards under different laws. The affidavit of disclosure is now a standard requirement in maintenance cases.
06How the amount is decided
There is no fixed formula. The court sets an amount that is fair in the circumstances, looking at the income and assets of the person who must pay, the reasonable needs and standard of living of the claimant, the number of dependants, and the liabilities of each side.
The capacity to earn is not the same as actual earning. A claimant who can show she cannot maintain herself is entitled, and a person who must pay cannot avoid liability by claiming to have no income if they are able-bodied and able to earn.
07How to claim and how it is enforced
- File the application: file a maintenance application under Section 144 of the BNSS before the Magistrate, or under the relevant personal law before the Family Court.
- Disclosure: both sides file the affidavit of assets, income and liabilities.
- Interim order: the court can grant interim maintenance early in the case.
- Final order: after hearing both sides, the court fixes the monthly allowance.
- Enforcement: if the amount is not paid, the court can recover it, including by issuing a warrant, so that the order is not ignored.
Where the claim is for a child, it often goes along with a question of child custody, and a maintenance claim may run within a divorce or judicial separation case.
08Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
A maintenance case travels a long road: an interim order, the disclosure affidavit, a final order, and often enforcement and appeal. Claw lets you follow your own matter through every one of those steps, tracking the orders and hearings by party or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. When the fight is over the amount, as it usually is, you can search more than 30 crore judgments in under 5 seconds to see how courts have weighed needs against means on facts like yours, under both the BNSS remedy and the personal laws.
Your records are not used to train Claw, which does not use customer documents to train its AI models. Create a free Claw account to follow a maintenance matter by party or advocate name, and for the wider body of law see case search across Indian courts.
09Sources and further reading
- India Code (BNSS, 2023 and the personal-law statutes): indiacode.nic.in
- District Courts, eCourts (Family Court and Magistrate practice): districts.ecourts.gov.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This guide is general information, not legal advice. The law and the case guidelines matter to the amount, so take advice from counsel before you act.
10Frequently asked questions
Under which law can a wife claim maintenance now?
The main all-religion remedy is Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which replaced Section 125 of the CrPC from 1 July 2024. A wife can also claim under personal law, such as the Hindu Marriage Act, the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, the Special Marriage Act, or the Domestic Violence Act.
Can children and parents claim maintenance?
Yes. Section 144 of the BNSS covers a wife, legitimate and illegitimate children who cannot maintain themselves, and parents who are unable to support themselves. For children, the usual dispute is about the amount, not the entitlement.
What is interim maintenance?
It is maintenance the court orders to support the claimant while the case is pending, so that a wife or child is not left without support during the litigation. The Supreme Court has said it should be decided quickly and fairly.
What is the disclosure affidavit?
Following Rajnesh v. Neha (2020), both parties must file an affidavit of their assets, income and liabilities, so the court can fix a fair amount on real figures. It is now a standard step in maintenance cases.
How is the maintenance amount decided?
There is no fixed formula. The court looks at the income and assets of the person who must pay, the reasonable needs and standard of living of the claimant, the number of dependants, and the liabilities of each side. Capacity to earn counts, not just actual earning.
Can I track a maintenance case in Claw?
Yes. Claw follows the orders and hearings in a maintenance matter by party or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, and lets you search more than 30 crore judgments in under 5 seconds for how courts have fixed amounts under the BNSS and the personal laws. It researches and tracks the matter; it does not give legal advice.