The section that replaced CrPC 125 on 1 July 2024 — and quietly dropped one word. Who can claim and who cannot, why "twenty-five per cent" is not a rule, the affidavit the Supreme Court made compulsory in every court in the country, the one-year limit that costs claimants their arrears, and how the other maintenance routes compare.
Section 144 of the BNSS lets a Magistrate order a person with sufficient means, who has neglected or refused to maintain, to pay a monthly allowance to his wife, his children, or his father or mother. It is the old Section 125 CrPC, and it applies to everyone whatever their religion. There is no maximum — the old five-hundred-rupee ceiling went in 2001.
Maintenance runs from the date of the application, not the date of the order.
Twenty-five per cent of salary is not a rule. A 2017 decision described it as just and proper on those facts — and awarded closer to 21% in the same judgment. In 2020 the Supreme Court laid down a multi-factor test with no percentage in it.
Both sides must file an affidavit of assets and liabilities — the Supreme Court directed this in 2020 for every maintenance proceeding in the country, with a reply due in four weeks. In 2023 it found courts were still not doing it and re-circulated the judgment.
Arrears carry a one-year limit. An application for a warrant must be made within a year of the amount falling due. This, not the merits, is what most often costs claimants money.
A divorced Muslim woman can claim under this section — the Supreme Court held in July 2024 that the 1986 Act is in addition to it, not in derogation of it.
Very little — and rather more than most pages notice.
| What it does | Old law | New law |
|---|---|---|
| Order for maintenance | Section 125 CrPC | Section 144 BNSS |
| Procedure and jurisdiction | Section 126 CrPC | Section 145 BNSS |
| Alteration of the allowance | Section 127 CrPC | Section 146 BNSS |
| Enforcement of the order | Section 128 CrPC | Section 147 BNSS |
There is one substantive change between the old section and the new one, and it has gone almost entirely unremarked.
| The words used | |
|---|---|
| CrPC 125(1)(b) | "his legitimate or illegitimate minor child…" |
| BNSS 144(1)(b) | "his legitimate or illegitimate child…" |
The word "minor" is gone — and it has also gone from the Explanation, which suggests the omission was deliberate rather than a slip. On the face of it that would allow an adult child who is unable to maintain itself to claim under clause (b) without having to establish the physical or mental abnormality that clause (c) requires.
| Claimant | Condition |
|---|---|
| Wife | Unable to maintain herself. "Wife" expressly includes a woman who has been divorced, by or from her husband, and who has not remarried |
| Child | Legitimate or illegitimate, married or not, unable to maintain itself |
| Major child | Unable to maintain itself by reason of a physical or mental abnormality or injury — but not a married daughter |
| Father or mother | Unable to maintain themselves. Claimable from a son or a daughter |
The order is made by a Magistrate of the first class, and there is no ceiling on the monthly amount.
Two things, and both are frequently under-pleaded.
And, on the claimant's side, that she or he is unable to maintain themselves.
The section names three situations. If any of them is established, no allowance is ordered — and if it is established after an order has been made, the Magistrate is to cancel it.
The second is where almost all the litigation is, and the section itself answers a good deal of it.
On restitution decrees, the position was clarified recently. In January 2025 the Supreme Court held that a decree for restitution of conjugal rights, and the wife's non-compliance with it, does not automatically attract the bar — the court must still examine whether she had sufficient reason for living separately.
The question everybody arrives with is how much. The answer given on most pages is "twenty-five per cent of his salary". That is not the law, and it is worth being precise about why.
The figure comes from a Supreme Court decision of 2017, which said that 25% of the husband's net salary would be "just and proper" — following a case from 1970. Three things about it:
The factors the 2020 judgment directs a court to weigh:
| About the claimant | About the respondent |
|---|---|
| Status of the parties, and the standard of living during the marriage | His income and earning capacity |
| Reasonable wants and needs | His liabilities and other obligations |
| Her own income, if any | The number of dependants he supports |
| Whether she gave up a career or education for the family | His qualifications and employment |
| The children's food, clothing, residence, medical needs and education | The cost of the litigation itself |
"The object of maintenance laws is to prevent vagrancy and destitution."
An award must be realistic — neither extravagant nor so meagre as to drive the claimant to destitution.
This is the most useful practical development in maintenance law in the last decade, and it is missing from almost every page on the subject.
In November 2020 the Supreme Court directed that an Affidavit of Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities shall be filed by both parties in all maintenance proceedings — in Family Courts, District Courts and Magistrates' Courts across the country, under the marriage laws, the maintenance laws, the Domestic Violence Act and this section — including matters already pending.
The judgment annexes the format. There are three enclosures: the principal affidavit, a version adapted for parties in rural and agricultural circumstances, and one for Meghalaya. (Several pages say four; there are three.)
"The respondent must submit the reply alongwith the Affidavit of Disclosure within a maximum period of four weeks."
And on false disclosure: "if false statements and misrepresentations are made, the Court may consider initiation of proceeding u/S. 340 Cr.P.C., and for contempt of Court."
Three years later the Court found this was still not happening.
In November 2023, in a case where maintenance had been awarded without the affidavits and by an order the Court described as cryptic and bereft of reasons, the Supreme Court recorded that it was still coming across such cases, and directed that the 2020 judgment be re-circulated to all judicial officers through the High Courts and to the judicial academies.
Maintenance is payable from the date of the application, not the date of the order. That is now both a direction of the Supreme Court and provided for in the section.
The practical significance is large. Where a maintenance case takes two years, arrears from the date of filing arrive as a lump sum. It also removes the incentive to delay: a respondent who drags the case out is accumulating a liability, not avoiding one.
On overlapping claims: a claimant may proceed under more than one law — this section, the Domestic Violence Act, the marriage law. What she cannot do is recover twice. She must disclose earlier orders, and the later court adjusts or sets off what has already been awarded. The Act itself provides for an earlier order to be taken into account when the allowance is altered.
Our page on the Domestic Violence Act covers the monetary relief available there alongside a residence order.
This is heavily litigated and often answered too simply in both directions.
"whether the wife is capable of earning or whether she is actually earning are two different requirements."
So being capable of earning is not by itself a ground to refuse or reduce maintenance. Actual income is a factor — one of many — and the test is not whether she can survive, but whether she can maintain herself at a standard reasonably commensurate with the matrimonial home. A woman who left employment for the family, or whose earnings are a fraction of the household's former standard, is not disentitled by having some income.
The section allows the Magistrate, during the pendency of the proceeding, to order interim maintenance and the expenses of the proceeding. It directs that an application for interim maintenance be disposed of as far as possible within sixty days of service of notice.
An order nobody obeys is worth nothing, and this is where most claimants are let down.
| Step | What it does |
|---|---|
| Warrant | The Magistrate issues a warrant to levy the amount in the manner provided for levying fines — attachment and sale |
| Imprisonment | For each month's default, imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month, or until payment if sooner made. It is coercive — it does not wipe out the arrears |
| Anywhere in India | The order can be enforced by any Magistrate anywhere in the country, and a certified copy is given free of cost |
| As a money decree | The Supreme Court has directed that a maintenance order may be enforced as a civil money decree, with the attachment and civil-detention machinery that brings |
On directing an employer to deduct from salary: courts do sometimes make such directions, and where the respondent is in secure salaried employment it is worth asking for. It is not a standard step under this section, and there is authority pulling in different directions on attaching future salary — so treat it as something to press for, not something to rely on.
For nearly forty years this was argued, and in July 2024 the Supreme Court settled it.
"Section 125 of the CrPC applies to all married women including Muslim married women."
"The 1986 Act is not in derogation of Section 125 of the CrPC but in addition."
The two remedies are cumulative, not alternatives. The Court held that the non-obstante clause in the 1986 Act was meant to enhance a divorced woman's rights, not to curtail them, and that sums paid under that Act are accounted for when the allowance is altered.
Children can be claimed for under this section, and the child's own maintenance is separate from the wife's — a point often lost when a single figure is negotiated.
Education is part of the child's reasonable needs, and the 2020 judgment expressly lists food, clothing, residence, medical needs and education among the factors. Bring the fee receipts.
A father or mother unable to maintain themselves can claim under this section from a son or a daughter. There is also a dedicated statute, and the choice between them matters more than people realise.
| BNSS 144 | Senior Citizens Act, 2007 | |
|---|---|---|
| Forum | Magistrate | Maintenance Tribunal, headed by a sub-divisional officer |
| Lawyers | Yes | Barred from appearing before the Tribunal |
| Ceiling | None | ₹10,000 per month |
| Who can be made liable | Son or daughter | Wider — including certain other relatives and heirs |
| Other remedies | Maintenance only | Includes machinery relating to eviction from the parent's property |
This page explains the law in general terms. It cannot tell you what to do about your own facts — only an advocate who has read your papers can do that. You can look through the advocates associated with Legal Space Services who practise in family and matrimonial matters, see their enrolment details and areas of practice, and send a consultation request. Searching and sending a request are free.
| Route | Forum | Who | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| BNSS 144 | Magistrate, summary | Wife, child, parent — all religions | Fast, no cap, criminal enforcement behind it |
| Hindu Marriage Act ss.24 and 25 | Family Court | Gender-neutral — either spouse | Maintenance during the case, and permanent alimony at the end, which can be charged on property |
| Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act | Civil suit | Wife, unmarried daughter of any age, widowed daughter-in-law, aged parents, dependants | Reaches claimants the other routes do not; gives a decree with arrears |
| Domestic Violence Act s.20 | Magistrate | Aggrieved woman | Monetary relief with a residence and protection order — see our DV Act page |
| Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 | Magistrate | Divorced Muslim woman | Provision within the iddat period — and, since 2024, expressly in addition to Section 144 |
| Special Marriage Act | District Court | Wife | Maintenance during and after proceedings under that Act |
| Senior Citizens Act, 2007 | Tribunal | Parent or senior citizen | Fast and lawyer-free, but capped at ₹10,000 a month |
Knowing the sequence removes most of the anxiety of the first few dates, and it shows you where the case is actually decided — which is earlier than most people expect.
| Stage | What happens | Where it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | The application is filed before the Magistrate, with the affidavit of assets and liabilities and the documents establishing the relationship | Maintenance will run from this date. File as soon as the position is clear; every month of delay is a month of arrears you do not get |
| Notice | Notice issues to the respondent | Correct address matters. A wrong address is the commonest reason for months of delay |
| Appearance and reply | The respondent appears and files a reply with his own affidavit of assets and liabilities, due within four weeks | This is the decisive document. Press for it; do not let the case proceed without it |
| Interim maintenance | An application for interim maintenance is decided — the section directs that it be disposed of, as far as possible, within sixty days of service of notice | In practice this figure sets the tone for everything that follows. Prepare for it as though it were the final hearing |
| Evidence | Both sides lead evidence and are cross-examined, largely on income and on the reason for living separately | Documents beat assertions. Bank statements, tax returns and fee receipts do the work here |
| Final order | The Magistrate fixes the monthly allowance, payable from the date of the application | Ask for a direction on the mode of payment — bank transfer to a named account, by a fixed date each month |
| Execution | If he does not pay, a warrant is applied for | Within one year of each instalment falling due. This is where cases are lost after being won |
| Alteration | Either side may apply to increase or reduce the allowance on a change in circumstances | Inflation, a changed income, a new dependant, a child's college fees |
| The mistake | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Waiting to file while trying to sort things out privately | Maintenance runs from the date of the application. Months spent waiting are months of arrears that never existed |
| Letting arrears accumulate without applying for a warrant | The one-year limit. Three years of unpaid maintenance can become one year of recoverable arrears |
| Not insisting on his affidavit | The case is then decided on guesswork about his income, which almost always favours him |
| Understating income in your own affidavit, as a respondent | An adverse inference, a higher figure than honest disclosure would have produced, and exposure to proceedings for a false affidavit |
| Negotiating one lump figure for wife and children together | The children's maintenance is a separate claim and does not end with the wife's remarriage or with a settlement of her claim |
| Not disclosing an earlier order | For a claimant, it damages credibility. For a respondent, it means the set-off is never applied and he pays twice |
| Simply stopping payment when circumstances change | There is a provision to alter the allowance. Stopping payment instead produces a warrant and, potentially, imprisonment |
| Believing "twenty-five per cent" | Expectations that no court has to meet, and settlements refused for the wrong reason |
It is the maintenance provision — the old Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. A Magistrate can order a person who has sufficient means, and who has neglected or refused to maintain, to pay a monthly allowance to his wife, his children, or his father or mother. It applies to everyone, whatever their religion.
A wife who is unable to maintain herself — and "wife" expressly includes a woman who has been divorced and has not remarried. A legitimate or illegitimate child. A child who has reached majority and is unable to maintain itself by reason of a physical or mental abnormality or injury, other than a married daughter. And a father or a mother unable to maintain themselves.
In the district where the person against whom you are claiming is, or where he or you reside, or where you last resided together. So a wife living in Delhi can ordinarily file in Delhi even if the husband is elsewhere. Once made, the order can be enforced by any Magistrate anywhere in India.
No. The old ceiling of five hundred rupees was removed in 2001 — long before the new codes. Some pages still mention a limit; there is none.
Yes. In July 2024 the Supreme Court held that Section 125 applies to all married women including Muslim married women, and that the 1986 Act is not in derogation of it but in addition to it — the two remedies are cumulative, not alternatives. The judgment speaks of Section 125 because the case began before the new codes, but Section 144 re-enacts it in substantially the same terms.
No — that is not a rule, and stating it as one is the commonest error on this subject. A 2017 Supreme Court decision said that 25% of the net salary would be "just and proper" on the facts of that case, and in the very same judgment the Court awarded a figure closer to 21% because the husband had remarried and had a child. In 2020 the Supreme Court laid down a multi-factor test for quantum and prescribed no percentage at all. Treat 25% as a reference point that courts sometimes use, not as an entitlement.
The status of the parties; the reasonable wants of the claimant; whether the claimant has any income of her own; the number of dependants; the standard of living during the marriage; the respondent's liabilities and his capacity to earn; whether the wife gave up a career or education; the cost of the litigation; the qualifications and employment of both; and inflation. The Supreme Court has said the object is to prevent vagrancy and destitution, and that an award must be realistic — neither extravagant nor meagre.
From the date of the application, not the date of the order. The Supreme Court directed this in 2020 and the section itself provides for it. So delay in the proceeding does not cost you the arrears.
Possibly. The Supreme Court has drawn a distinction that matters: whether a wife is capable of earning and whether she is actually earning are two different things. Her own income is one of the factors, but earning something does not automatically disentitle her — the question is whether she can maintain herself at a standard reasonably commensurate with the matrimonial home.
An affidavit of disclosure of assets and liabilities. In 2020 the Supreme Court directed that it be filed by both parties in all maintenance proceedings, in every court in the country, including matters already pending — and that the other side reply within four weeks. Where false statements are made, the Court said the court may consider proceedings for giving false evidence and for contempt.
Where she is living in adultery; where she refuses without sufficient reason to live with her husband; or where they are living separately by mutual consent. If any of these is established after an order, the Magistrate is to cancel it.
The question is whether you had sufficient reason. The section itself contains an Explanation: if the husband has contracted a marriage with another woman, or keeps a mistress, that is just ground for his wife to refuse to live with him. Beyond that, cruelty and the conditions in the house are matters the court examines on evidence.
Not automatically. In January 2025 the Supreme Court held that a decree for restitution of conjugal rights, and non-compliance with it, does not by itself trigger the bar. The court must still ask whether the wife had sufficient reason for living separately.
The Magistrate can issue a warrant to recover the amount in the way fines are levied, and can sentence him to imprisonment of up to one month for each month's default — and that does not wipe out the arrears; it is coercive, and he is released on payment. The order can also be executed like a civil money decree.
Yes, and it is the trap that costs claimants the most money. An application for a warrant must be made within one year from the date on which the amount became due. Do not let arrears accumulate quietly for years — apply as they fall due.
They do different things and you may use more than one. This section is quick, is heard by a Magistrate, applies to everyone and has criminal enforcement behind it. The Hindu Marriage Act gives interim maintenance during a matrimonial case and permanent alimony at the end, and it is gender-neutral. The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act allows a civil suit and reaches people this section does not — an unmarried daughter of any age, and a widowed daughter-in-law. The Domestic Violence Act gives monetary relief along with a residence order.
No, and that is not the point of filing in more than one place. You must disclose what has already been awarded, and the later court adjusts or sets it off. The Act itself provides for the earlier order to be taken into account.
Two routes. This section allows a father or mother unable to maintain themselves to claim from a son or daughter, and there is no ceiling on the amount. The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act provides a faster tribunal route where lawyers are barred from appearing — but its monthly maintenance is capped at ₹10,000. A parent who needs more than that should look at this section.
In February 2025 a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that a spouse whose marriage has been declared void under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act may still seek permanent alimony under Section 25 of that Act, and that interim maintenance is also available. Our page on Section 82 BNS deals with the second-marriage situation this most often arises from.
Under this section, only where the child has reached majority and is unable to maintain itself by reason of a physical or mental abnormality or injury. Under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act an unmarried daughter can claim with no age limit and without any disability — a route that does not extend to an adult son. There is also an argument arising from a change in the wording of the new code, discussed on this page.
Browse all 21 law pages — search by section number, old or new →
Tell us in one line who has stopped paying and since when. We will tell you which practice area it falls under and point you to an advocate who works in it. The first conversation costs nothing.