Maintenance for a Wife Under Section 144 BNSS: Who Can Claim, How Much, and How Fast (2026 Guide)

Few things are as stressful as walking out of a marriage with no money of your own. The law in India recognises this, and Section 144 of the BNSS is the fastest, most widely used route to a monthly allowance. It is a summary remedy: it is meant to prevent destitution quickly, not to decide who was at fault in the marriage.

What changed in 2024, and what did not

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024 and replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure. The maintenance provision moved from Section 125 CrPC to Section 144 BNSS. The wording is substantially the same, so the large body of Supreme Court and High Court judgments decided under Section 125 continues to guide courts. Cases filed before 1 July 2024 continue under the old Code.

Who can claim maintenance under Section 144

• A wife who is unable to maintain herself. This includes a divorced wife who has not remarried.
• Children, legitimate or not, while they are minors, and adult children who cannot maintain themselves because of a physical or mental abnormality or injury. A married daughter is covered only in limited situations.
• Parents who cannot maintain themselves.

The person paying must have sufficient means and must have neglected or refused to maintain the claimant. "Means" is read broadly: an able-bodied husband cannot escape simply by saying he has no job.

When a wife can be refused maintenance

The law lists three situations in which a wife is not entitled to an allowance:

1. she is living in adultery;
2. she refuses, without sufficient reason, to live with her husband; or
3. they are living separately by mutual consent.

"Sufficient reason" is interpreted realistically. Cruelty, dowry harassment, or a husband who has married again or keeps another partner are generally treated as good reasons for living apart.

How courts decide the amount

There is no ceiling in the section. The court looks at the status of the parties, the reasonable needs of the wife and children, the husband's real income and liabilities, the cost of living, and inflation. The landmark ruling in Rajnesh v. Neha (2021) made three practical changes that every litigant should know:

• Affidavit of disclosure. Both spouses must file a detailed affidavit of their assets, income and liabilities. Concealment can lead to adverse inferences and even perjury proceedings.
• From the date of application. Maintenance is ordinarily payable from the date the application is filed, so delay by the other side does not reduce what is owed.
• No double recovery. If maintenance is also claimed under the Hindu Marriage Act, the Domestic Violence Act or the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, the amounts are adjusted against each other instead of being paid twice.

What the Supreme Court said in 2026

Two rulings this year are worth knowing before you file or defend a claim.

In January 2026, a bench of Justices SVN Bhatti and R Mahadevan (reported as Anamika Jain v. Dr. Atul Jain) held that a husband's duty to support his former wife does not end merely because she is educated or has support from her parents. Permanent alimony under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act was raised from ₹15,000 to ₹30,000 a month, and the husband's plea that he had liabilities from a second marriage was rejected.

In April 2026, a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Augustine George Masih, hearing a claim under Section 144 BNSS, raised maintenance from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month. The Court called the husband's obligation "a primary and continuing duty" and said maintenance must allow the wife to live with dignity, close to the standard she enjoyed during the marriage. As reported, the Court also refused to let the husband's loan repayments dilute that duty.

The practical lesson: courts look past paper salaries and voluntary EMIs to the family's real standard of living.

Interim maintenance: help while the case is pending

The court can order a monthly allowance and litigation expenses while the case is pending. The section says an application for interim maintenance should, as far as possible, be disposed of within 60 days from service of notice on the husband. In practice, timelines vary by court, so file the interim application along with the main petition and press for an early hearing.

Where to file and what to bring

You can generally file where you live, where the husband lives, or where you last lived together. In cities with a Family Court, the claim goes there. Keep these ready:

• proof of marriage (certificate, photographs, invitation card);
• your own income proof, or a statement that you have none;
• any evidence of the husband's income: salary slips, ITRs, business records, property papers, bank statements, lifestyle evidence;
• children's school fees and medical expenses;
• records of the separation: messages, complaints, police or women's cell records.

What if he does not pay?

Unpaid maintenance can be recovered like a fine, including by attaching the husband's property or salary. For each month's default, the court can also send him to prison for up to one month or until payment, whichever is earlier. Apply for recovery within one year of the amount falling due, or you may lose that month's arrears.

Tips if you are the husband

File a truthful affidavit of assets, pay interim maintenance on time even if you plan to challenge it, and raise genuine defences (such as the wife's real income) with documents. Courts react badly to sudden resignations, transfers of property to relatives, or EMI schedules created after the dispute began.