Section 144 BNSS: Order for Maintenance of Wife, Children and Parents
Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 provides a summary remedy for maintenance where a person having sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain specified dependants. The provision covers a wife who is unable to maintain herself, eligible children, and a father or mother who cannot maintain himself or herself.
What Section 144 BNSS Covers
- Who may claim: A qualifying wife, child, father or mother who is unable to maintain himself or herself.
- Who may order maintenance: A Magistrate of the first class, on proof of neglect or refusal by a person having sufficient means.
- Interim relief: Interim maintenance and proceeding expenses may be ordered while the main maintenance proceeding is pending.
- Sixty-day objective: An interim-maintenance application should, as far as possible, be disposed of within sixty days from service of notice.
- Effective date: Maintenance may be made payable from the date of the order or, if the Magistrate so directs, from the date of the application.
- Enforcement: Unpaid amounts may be recovered by warrant, subject to the statutory conditions, with imprisonment for default in appropriate cases.
Meaning of Wife under Section 144
For this Chapter, the statutory explanation expressly includes within the term "wife" a woman who has been divorced by, or has obtained a divorce from, her husband and has not remarried.
Section 144 BNSS - Statutory Text
144. (1) If any person having sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain-
(a) his wife, unable to maintain herself; or
(b) his legitimate or illegitimate child, whether married or not, unable to maintain itself; or
(c) his legitimate or illegitimate child (not being a married daughter) who has attained majority, where such child is, by reason of any physical or mental abnormality or injury unable to maintain itself; or
(d) his father or mother, unable to maintain himself or herself,
a Magistrate of the first class may, upon proof of such neglect or refusal, order such person to make a monthly allowance for the maintenance of his wife or such child, father or mother, at such monthly rate as such Magistrate thinks fit and to pay the same to such person as the Magistrate may from time to time direct:
Provided that the Magistrate may order the father of a female child referred to in clause (b) to make such allowance, until she attains her majority, if the Magistrate is satisfied that the husband of such female child, if married, is not possessed of sufficient means:
Provided further that the Magistrate may, during the pendency of the proceeding regarding monthly allowance for the maintenance under this sub-section, order such person to make a monthly allowance for the interim maintenance of his wife or such child, father or mother, and the expenses of such proceeding which the Magistrate considers reasonable, and to pay the same to such person as the Magistrate may from time to time direct:
Provided also that an application for the monthly allowance for the interim maintenance and expenses of proceeding under the second proviso shall, as far as possible, be disposed of within sixty days from the date of the service of notice of the application to such person.
Explanation.- For the purposes of this Chapter, "wife" includes a woman who has been divorced by, or has obtained a divorce from, her husband and has not remarried.
(2) Any such allowance for the maintenance or interim maintenance and expenses of proceeding shall be payable from the date of the order, or, if so ordered, from the date of the application for maintenance or interim maintenance and expenses of proceeding, as the case may be.
(3) If any person so ordered fails without sufficient cause to comply with the order, any such Magistrate may, for every breach of the order, issue a warrant for levying the amount due in the manner provided for levying fines, and may sentence such person, for the whole or any part of each month's allowance for the maintenance or the interim maintenance and expenses of proceeding, as the case may be, remaining unpaid after the execution of the warrant, to imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or until payment if sooner made:
Provided that no warrant shall be issued for the recovery of any amount due under this section unless application be made to the Court to levy such amount within a period of one year from the date on which it became due:
Provided further that if such person offers to maintain his wife on condition of her living with him, and she refuses to live with him, such Magistrate may consider any grounds of refusal stated by her, and may make an order under this section notwithstanding such offer, if he is satisfied that there is just ground for so doing.
Explanation.- If a husband has contracted marriage with another woman or keeps a mistress, it shall be considered to be just ground for his wife's refusal to live with him.
(4) No wife shall be entitled to receive an allowance for the maintenance or the interim maintenance and expenses of proceeding, from her husband under this section if she is living in adultery, or if, without any sufficient reason, she refuses to live with her husband, or if they are living separately by mutual consent.
(5) On proof that any wife in whose favour an order has been made under this section is living in adultery, or that without sufficient reason she refuses to live with her husband, or that they are living separately by mutual consent, the Magistrate shall cancel the order.
Interim Maintenance and Expenses of Proceedings
Section 144 permits the Magistrate to award interim maintenance and reasonable expenses of the proceeding while the main maintenance claim is pending. The statute states that the application for interim maintenance and proceeding expenses should, as far as possible, be decided within sixty days from service of notice on the person against whom maintenance is claimed.
From Which Date Can Maintenance Be Awarded?
Under sub-section (2), maintenance, interim maintenance and expenses of proceedings are ordinarily payable from the date of the order. The Magistrate may, however, direct payment from the date of the relevant application.
Recovery and Consequences of Non-Payment
Sub-section (3) provides a statutory enforcement mechanism where a person fails without sufficient cause to comply with a maintenance order. The Magistrate may issue a warrant for recovery in the manner provided for levying fines and may impose imprisonment for the unpaid portion, subject to the conditions contained in Section 144. An application to levy an amount due must be made within one year from the date on which that amount became due.
When a Wife May Be Disentitled to Maintenance under Section 144
Sub-sections (4) and (5) provide that a wife is not entitled to maintenance or interim maintenance under this section if she is living in adultery, refuses to live with her husband without sufficient reason, or the spouses are living separately by mutual consent. Where an order has already been made and these statutory grounds are proved, the Magistrate shall cancel the order.
Related BNSS Provisions
Official Sources
For the authoritative text and commencement materials, refer to the official Government sources linked in the sidebar. This page is intended as a structured legal reference and should be read with the current statutory text and applicable judicial decisions.