How to Claim Maintenance Under the BNSS (Section 144), Step by Step (2026)

How-to · Family · BNSS 2023

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

A spouse walks out, or stops paying, and the person left behind cannot meet basic costs. A long divorce or civil suit is no help when rent is due this month. Indian law has a faster answer: a summary maintenance order from a Magistrate, meant to prevent destitution. This guide explains how to claim maintenance under Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), which replaced Section 125 of the old CrPC. It sets out who can claim, where and how to file, interim maintenance, how the amount is fixed, and how to enforce an order. Last verified October 2026.

The short answer

What it is: a summary monthly maintenance order from a Magistrate, to prevent destitution.
New-code section: Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (old CrPC 125).
Who can claim: a wife (including a divorced wife who has not remarried), children (including disabled adult children), and parents, who cannot maintain themselves.
Money can start early: interim maintenance is available during the case, with no fixed ceiling on the amount.
Tracking the case: Claw tracks maintenance matters across 9,102 forums.

01What this remedy is

Section 144 of the BNSS lets a Magistrate order a person who has enough means, but neglects or refuses to maintain their dependants, to pay a monthly allowance. The aim is social: to stop a wife, child or parent from being left destitute while longer proceedings run.

Three features make it useful. It is secular, so it applies whatever the religion of the parties. It is summary, so it moves faster than a civil suit. And it allows interim relief, so money can start before the case is fully decided.

02Who can claim

The categories carry over from the old law, with one expansion to note.

Wife, including a wife who has been divorced and has not remarried, if she cannot maintain herself.
Children, whether legitimate or illegitimate. This includes an adult child who cannot maintain themselves because of a physical or mental abnormality or injury.
Father or mother who cannot maintain themselves.

A drafting change to watch

Commentators have noted that the word “minor” was dropped in parts of the BNSS text, and some read this as widening the right of adult children to claim. Others say the old law already covered disabled adult children. Check the current section text and recent rulings, and plead the exact category your claimant falls in.

03Old law to new law

The maintenance scheme moved from the CrPC to the BNSS with the substance kept intact. The surrounding sections moved together.

New law (BNSS, 2023)	Old law (CrPC, 1973)	Subject
Section 144	Section 125	Order for maintenance of wife, children and parents
Section 145	Section 126	Procedure and which court has jurisdiction
Section 146	Section 127	Alteration of the allowance
Section 147	Section 128	Enforcement of the order

Pending cases filed before 1 July 2024 continue under the CrPC. Fresh applications are filed under the BNSS.

04Step by step: how to file

Confirm the category and the ground. Establish that the claimant is a wife, child or parent who cannot maintain themselves, and that the respondent has sufficient means but neglects or refuses to maintain them.
Pick the right court. File before the Judicial Magistrate who has jurisdiction. Under the procedure section, this can be where the respondent is, or where the wife resides, among other options, so choose the forum that is most convenient and lawful for your facts.
Prepare the application. Set out the relationship, the respondent’s income and means, the claimant’s needs and inability to maintain themselves, and the amount claimed. Attach proof of relationship (marriage, birth records), and whatever proof of the respondent’s income you have.
Ask for interim maintenance. In the same application, pray for interim maintenance and litigation costs so money can start while the case runs.
Serve notice and attend hearings. The court issues notice to the respondent. Both sides file replies and evidence. The procedure is summary, so keep the record tight and the documents ready.
Final order. The Magistrate fixes the monthly allowance, and the date from which it runs. It can be ordered from the date of the application or the date of the order, so ask for the earlier date and reasons.

Jurisdiction tip

The place where the wife resides is often an available forum under the procedure section, which can make filing far easier for the claimant. Confirm the exact options in the current text before you choose.

05Interim maintenance and how the amount is fixed

Interim maintenance is relief granted during the case, before the final order. Courts expect maintenance applications to be decided reasonably quickly, and interim relief is meant to prevent hardship in the meantime.

On quantum, there is no fixed ceiling. Courts look at the standard of living the claimant was used to, the income and assets of the respondent, the reasonable needs of the claimant, and the respondent’s own liabilities. A key point: the test is the respondent’s capacity to earn, not only what they actually declare, so a respondent cannot escape by hiding or understating income.

Maintenance is measured by need and by the respondent’s real capacity to pay, not by the figure they choose to admit.

06Enforcing the order

An order is only as good as its enforcement. If the respondent does not pay, the enforcement section lets the court recover the arrears.

Apply for recovery. File for enforcement setting out the unpaid amount and the period.
Recovery methods. The court can issue a warrant to levy the amount in the manner of a fine, and can order imprisonment for a period for each breach if the amount remains unpaid, subject to the limits in the section.
Act within time. Enforcement for arrears is usually subject to a time limit running from when the amount became due, so do not sit on an unpaid order.

07Common pitfalls

Weak proof of the respondent’s income. Gather salary slips, bank statements, property records, and any admissions. Courts can also draw an adverse view where a respondent hides income.
Not asking for the earlier start date. Always pray that maintenance run from the date of the application, with reasons, so the claimant is not penalised for the time the case took.
Confusing the remedies. Maintenance under Section 144 BNSS is separate from relief under personal law and from a protection or maintenance order in a domestic violence case. See how to file a domestic violence complaint.
Missing hearings. A summary matter can be decided quickly, so a missed date can cost an order or a chance to lead evidence.

For the law behind this remedy, see our explainer on maintenance under BNSS Section 144 and the older Section 125 CrPC maintenance note. See also how to file a maintenance petition.

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 claim moves through an interim application, replies, evidence and often enforcement and an appeal, and one missed date can undo months of effort. Claw helps you keep pace. You can search more than 30 crore judgments on Section 144 and the old Section 125, in under 5 seconds, for the right authorities on quantum and interim relief, and you can keep the case, its orders and its hearings in view, by party name or advocate name, across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. See how to track criminal case hearings.

Claw researches and tracks the matter; it does not file the application for you or replace legal advice, and it does not use customer documents to train its AI models. Open a free Claw account to find the authorities and follow a maintenance matter by party name or advocate name.

09Sources and further reading

India Code (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
Ministry of Home Affairs (new criminal laws): mha.gov.in
Claw: clawlaw.in

This guide is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text of the BNSS and take advice from counsel before you file.

10Frequently asked questions

What is Section 144 of the BNSS?

It is the maintenance provision. A Magistrate can order a person with sufficient means, who neglects or refuses to maintain a wife, child or parent who cannot maintain themselves, to pay a monthly allowance. It replaces Section 125 of the CrPC.

Who can file for maintenance under Section 144?

A wife (including a divorced wife who has not remarried), a legitimate or illegitimate child (including an adult child who cannot maintain themselves due to disability), and a father or mother who cannot maintain themselves.

Where do I file a maintenance application?

Before the Judicial Magistrate who has jurisdiction. The procedure section allows filing in places such as where the respondent is or where the wife resides, so pick the lawful forum that is most convenient. Confirm the options in the current text.

Can I get interim maintenance before the case ends?

Yes. You should pray for interim maintenance and litigation costs in the application, so that money can start while the case runs. There is no fixed ceiling on the amount.

How is a maintenance order enforced if the respondent does not pay?

Apply under the enforcement section. The court can recover the amount as a fine and can order imprisonment for each breach within the limits in the section. Act within the time limit for arrears.

Can I track a maintenance case in Claw?

Yes. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments on Section 144 in under 5 seconds and keeps the cases, orders and hearings in your matter in view by party name or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. It tracks the case but does not file it or give legal advice.