Maintenance Under Section 144 BNSS (Formerly 125 CrPC): A Practical Guide for Bangalore

Maintenance is the most frequently invoked, most poorly understood, and most strategically important part of matrimonial litigation in India. Get it wrong, and either spouse can be financially crippled for years. Get it right, and the rest of the proceedings become considerably easier.

Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is now Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The substantive law is essentially unchanged — it is the same right, under a renumbered provision. Bangalore Family Courts and Magistrate Courts continue to apply the existing body of jurisprudence, including Rajnesh v. Neha (2020), which laid down a uniform framework for affidavits of disclosure across all maintenance proceedings.

Who can claim, and against whom

• A wife who is unable to maintain herself, against her husband.
• A divorced wife who has not remarried, against her former husband.
• Legitimate or illegitimate minor children, against either parent.
• Major children unable to maintain themselves due to physical or mental incapacity.
• Parents unable to maintain themselves, against their children.

The provision is religion-neutral. It applies to Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Parsis alike, though Muslim women have additional remedies under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.

How quantum is determined

There is no formula. Section 144 BNSS speaks of a maintenance amount as the Magistrate thinks fit. In practice, Bangalore courts examine:

• Income and assets of both spouses, supported by salary slips, bank statements, ITRs and the Rajnesh affidavit.
• Standard of living during the marriage.
• Reasonable needs of the claimant, including medical expenses where relevant.
• Liabilities of the respondent — genuine EMIs, dependents, legitimate financial commitments.
• Earning capacity of the claimant — courts increasingly expect able-bodied, qualified spouses to make reasonable efforts toward self-support, particularly where the marriage was short.

We do not encourage clients to plug numbers into informal percentage formulas circulated online. Bangalore Family Court judges examine the facts; they do not award fractions of net income mechanically.

Interim maintenance — where the matter is often effectively decided

An application for interim maintenance can and should be filed at the very first hearing. Courts are required to dispose of it within sixty days under the Rajnesh framework, though in practice it often takes longer. The interim figure tends to anchor expectations for the final order, so the supporting affidavit and disclosure must be carefully prepared from day one.

Concurrent claims — and the no-double-recovery principle

A wife may claim maintenance simultaneously under Section 144 BNSS, Section 24/25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and personal-law provisions. She can pursue all of them. What she cannot do is recover the same amount twice. Courts adjust later orders against earlier ones. We typically recommend the most appropriate single forum for the primary claim, with parallel proceedings used strategically rather than reflexively.

Enforcement — the real bottleneck

An order is only as good as its enforcement. Section 144 BNSS provides for warrant-of-attachment and imprisonment up to one month for each month's unpaid maintenance. In practice, salary attachment from the employer, attachment of bank accounts, and execution against immovable property are the practical tools.

Self-employed respondents present the harder problem. Where income is largely undisclosed, courts have begun ordering attachment of business receivables and applications for examination of the judgment-debtor. We have seen meaningful results, but it requires persistence over months.

Common misconceptions

"My wife is qualified, so she gets nothing."

Qualification reduces the quantum but rarely eliminates the right entirely, especially where there are young children or a long marriage during which she did not work.

"If I quit my job, maintenance becomes unpayable."

Courts impute income based on earning capacity, not just actual income. Voluntary unemployment to defeat maintenance is a transparent strategy that rarely succeeds and usually annoys the judge.

"Maintenance ends if she works."

It does not end automatically. A material change in circumstances permits a variation application. The respondent must apply; the order does not lapse on its own.

Children's maintenance — the often-overlooked claim

Section 144 BNSS expressly covers minor children, and major children unable to maintain themselves due to physical or mental incapacity. The wife's claim and the children's claim are independent — a wife who is herself capable of self-support may still claim maintenance for the children. Bangalore courts increasingly fix children's maintenance separately from spousal maintenance, with built-in escalation clauses tied to the cost of education at the child's existing school.

We routinely include education undertakings — tuition, school fees, examination expenses, and dedicated medical cover — in the original prayer rather than litigating each item later. Front-loading reduces the number of trips back to court.

Where the maintenance claim should be filed in Bangalore

Section 144 BNSS proceedings are heard by the Magistrate Court having territorial jurisdiction over the place where the wife resides, where the husband resides, or where they last resided together. Hindu Marriage Act maintenance under Sections 24 and 25 is heard by the Family Court at Mayo Hall. Domestic Violence Act monetary relief is heard by the Magistrate seized of the DV application. We choose the forum carefully based on the client's circumstances and the strategic shape of the broader matter — often filing in two forums simultaneously is wasteful, but in some matters it is the right move.

If you are dealing with a maintenance claim or need to file one in Bangalore, message us on WhatsApp at +91 63634 69138 for a privileged first conversation. We will give you a candid view of likely quantum and timeline before you take any step that commits you.