Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Submitted by:-
PRATHAM SAXENA
B.B.A.L.L.B. 8TH Semester
Roll no.-LS/BBALLB/1601/008
Contents
1. What is a Maintenance?
8. Bibliography
Acknowledgement
At the outset, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and thank my mentor, MS. SOUMI
CHATTERJEE, for instilling confidence in me. I am indeed privileged having being groomed in
a prestigious institution like Noida International University. I would also like to express my
gratitude to my friends for their support and help. My gratitude also goes out to the staff and
administration of Noida International University for the library infrastructure and IT Lab that
was a source of great help for the completion of this project.
Pratham Saxena
What is a Maintenance?
Maintenance” is an amount payable by the husband to his wife who is unable to maintain herself
either during the subsistence of marriage or upon separation or divorce. Various laws governing
maintenance are as follows:
for Hindus – Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956
for Christians – Divorce Act, 1869 secular laws – Criminal Procedure Code, 1973; Special
Marriage Act,1954
Section 125 to 128 of Cr.P.C lay provisions for maintenance of wives, children and parents.
Seetionl25 of the Code gives effect to the natural and fundamental duty of a man to maintain his
wife, children and parents so long as they are unable to maintain themselves This provision is a
measure for social justice and specially enacted to protect women and children, (also old and
infirm poor parents) and falls within the constitutional sweep ofArticle 15(3) reinforced by
Article 39.1
Under Section 125, any of the following persons can claim maintenance.
Wife
A woman is considered as the “wife” only if her marriage to the man is legally valid.
For Hindus, the second wife cannot claim maintenance because a second marriage is forbidden
by law and is not recognised as being valid. The second wife is entitled to claim maintenance
only if the husband concealed his first marriage from her.
both parties are Muslims of sound mind both parties have attained puberty (presumed at the
age of 15)
the parties are not temporarily or permanently prohibited from marrying each other
the woman is not married to another man or observing iddat for another man, a proposal
(ijab) is made
both proposal and acceptance are made at the same occasion and signify the establishment of
marriage with the immediate effect
the proposal and acceptance are witnessed by two men or a man and two women who are
Muslim adults of sound mind, know the bride and groom with certainty and understand the
proposal and acceptance.
Live-in relationships are presumed to be a marriage. The wife who lives separately without
sufficient reasons or due to personal mutual agreement cannot claim maintenance. “Wife”
includes a divorced woman, but she must not be remarried on the date that she files an
application for maintenance. A divorced Muslim wife can claim maintenance even if the iddat
period has passed, but she must not be remarried. The age of the wife is irrelevant in claims of
maintenance – she may be a minor or a major. Additionally, the wife must not be living in
adultery.
Child
Male and female children, irrespective of whether they are born inside or outside the legally
valid marriage of the father and mother, can claim maintenance. They must be minors to claim
maintenance. They may be married or unmarried.
Adult children can claim maintenance from their parents only if they have a physical or mental
abnormality that makes them unable to maintain themselves. An adult unmarried daughter can
claim maintenance from her parents.
Married minor girls can claim maintenance from their parents till they turn 18 if their husbands
do not have sufficient means to maintain them. However, married adult girls cannot claim
maintenance from the parents.
Both the mother and the father, whether natural or adoptive, can claim maintenance from any
one or more of their children. Daughters are also liable to pay maintenance to the mother and the
father. A step-mother can claim maintenance only if she is a widow and does not have natural-
born sons or daughters.
1. The person must have neglected the claimant or refused to pay maintenance.
2. Persons claiming maintenance must be unable to maintain themselves. If a person is healthy,
adequately educated or capable of pursuing gainful employment no maintenance is given.
Wives and elderly parents are generally given maintenance. The mere fact that the wife is
earning does not disentitle her from claiming maintenance. The question is whether she is
able to maintain the same standard of living that subsisted prior to the neglect or divorce with
her own earnings without having to depend on another.
Maintenance is payable either from the date of order of payment or from the date of application
for maintenance, depending on the court’s judgment of the cooperation and decent behaviour
demonstrated by the parties.
A second application of maintenance is allowed under Section 125 and the quantum of
maintenance can be enhanced with passage of time or change in material circumstances and
prices.
husband resides
or wife resides
or husband is physically present at the particular point of time
or husband last resided with wife.
they reside
or the child resides.
Section 125 also makes provision for such circumstances in which the wife is no longer eligible
to receive the maintenance amount:
After a maintenance order is passed, a copy of the order must be supplied to the claimant free of
cost. The person who is ordered to pay maintenance must obey the court order. The failure to pay
maintenance without sufficient reason will result in a court warrant for collecting the amount
due. The court warrant can attach any immovable property or salary of the person. If the person
does not pay maintenance even after the warrant is executed, the person is liable to imprisonment
for a maximum of 1 month or until the amount is paid, whichever is earlier. The application for
enforcement of maintenance must be filed within 1 year from the date on which it became due.
Otherwise the application will be dismissed.
Bibliography
http://www.helplinelaw.com/family-law/MCCP/maintenance-under-section-125-of-the-code-of-
criminal-procedure.html
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/divorce/maintenance-wife-children-parents.htm
https://factly.in/who-can-seek-maintenance-under-section-125-of-the-crpc/
https://www.legistify.com/blogs/view_detail/maintenance-under-section-125-of-crpc/