Section 125 CrPC - Maintenance of Wives, Children and Parents
Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) provided a summary remedy against neglect of wives, children and parents who cannot maintain themselves. For proceedings governed by the law in force from 1 July 2024, the corresponding central provision is Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS). This guide explains eligibility, the court's powers, interim maintenance and enforcement, while preserving the historical CrPC text below.
What is maintenance under Section 125 CrPC and Section 144 BNSS?
Maintenance is financial support ordered for an eligible dependent who cannot maintain themselves. It is a social-protection remedy intended to prevent destitution, not a punishment for marital disputes. A Magistrate of the first class may order a monthly allowance where a person with sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain an eligible claimant.
Who can claim maintenance?
- Wife: A wife unable to maintain herself, including a woman divorced by or from her husband who has not remarried, subject to the statutory conditions.
- Minor children: Legitimate or illegitimate minor children, whether married or unmarried, unable to maintain themselves; a special proviso addresses certain married minor daughters.
- Adult children with disability or injury: A legitimate or illegitimate adult child, other than a married daughter, unable to maintain themselves because of physical or mental abnormality or injury.
- Parents: A father or mother unable to maintain himself or herself.
The statute uses minor by reference to the applicable law on majority. For other maintenance remedies, including those under personal laws or family-court jurisdiction, different requirements may apply.
Conditions the Magistrate considers
The central questions are whether the respondent has sufficient means, whether there is neglect or refusal to maintain, whether the claimant falls within a protected category and whether the claimant is unable to maintain themselves. The court may assess income, earning capacity, reasonable needs, dependants and relevant evidence. There is no single fixed national maintenance amount under these provisions.
Interim maintenance and litigation expenses
The Magistrate may direct payment of interim maintenance and reasonable expenses of proceedings while the main application is pending. The legislation states that an interim-maintenance application should, as far as possible, be disposed of within 60 days from service of notice. This is a statutory objective, not an automatic guarantee of disposal.
From what date is maintenance payable?
Maintenance, interim maintenance and proceeding expenses are payable from the date of the order, or from the date of the application if the court so orders. The effective date should be checked in the actual order.
What happens if maintenance is not paid?
On non-compliance without sufficient cause, the Magistrate may issue a warrant to recover the amount in the manner prescribed for levying fines. Subject to statutory conditions, imprisonment of up to one month for the whole or part of each month's unpaid allowance may follow after execution of the warrant, or until earlier payment. The application for a recovery warrant must ordinarily be made within one year from when the relevant amount became due. Imprisonment does not itself extinguish the underlying maintenance obligation.
When may a wife be refused maintenance?
The statutory disqualifications include living in adultery, refusing without sufficient reason to live with her husband, and living separately by mutual consent. These questions require evidence and judicial determination. The law also expressly recognises that a husband's marriage to another woman or keeping a mistress is just ground for a wife's refusal to live with him.
How to apply for maintenance
- Identify the competent Magistrate or Family Court, taking account of applicable jurisdictional legislation.
- File a petition setting out the relationship, inability to maintain oneself, respondent's means, neglect or refusal and requested relief.
- Attach available documents such as identity and relationship records, income information, expenditure details and prior orders.
- Request interim maintenance and litigation expenses where necessary.
- Attend proceedings, submit evidence and seek enforcement if the order is not complied with.
Related procedural provisions are Section 126 CrPC (procedure), Section 127 CrPC (alteration of allowance), and Section 128 CrPC (enforcement). Their BNSS counterparts are Sections 145, 146 and 147 respectively.
Illustrative example
A parent with no independent income may apply for monthly maintenance from an adult child with sufficient means who refuses reasonable support. The Magistrate will examine the evidence and may order an appropriate amount. Likewise, a qualifying wife may seek interim support during proceedings. Outcomes depend on the facts and applicable law.
Official statutory references
Consult the India Code official legislation database for the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Ministry of Home Affairs for criminal-law commencement notifications. Check the current consolidated legislation, amendments and relevant court decisions before relying on a particular provision.
Frequently asked questions
Which BNSS section corresponds to Section 125 CrPC?
Section 144 of the BNSS, 2023 addresses maintenance of wives, children and parents.
Can a divorced woman claim maintenance?
A woman divorced by or from her husband who has not remarried is included within the statutory definition of wife, subject to the facts and applicable legal requirements.
Is there a fixed maximum monthly amount?
The central provision does not prescribe one uniform maximum amount. Courts assess the evidence and applicable law; historical state amendments must not be mistaken for a present nationwide cap.
Can maintenance be ordered while the case is pending?
Yes. Interim maintenance and reasonable proceeding expenses may be ordered during the case.
Can an existing maintenance order be changed?
Yes, where the relevant legal conditions are met. See the provisions governing alteration of allowance.
Original Section 125 CrPC text and historical state amendments
The following material is preserved from the original webpage for reference. It includes historical amendment notes and state-specific text, which should not be treated as a statement of current law without checking subsequent legislation.
(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 minor 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 1* * * 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 minor 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 minor female child, if married, is not possessed of sufficient means:
2[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,
(a) "minor" means a person who, under the provisions of the Indian Majority Act, 1875 (9 of 1875) is deemed not to have attained his majority;
(b) "wife" includes a woman who has been divorced by, or has obtained a divorce from, her husband and has not remarried.
3[(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 months 4[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
wifes refusal to live with him.
(4) No wife shall be entitled to receive an 5[allowance for the maintenance or
the interim maintenance and expenses of proceeding, as the case may be,] 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 in 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.
STATE
AMENDMENTS
Madhya Pradesh-
Amendment of Section 125.- In sub-section (1) of section 125 of the
Principal Act, for the words "five hundred rupees" the words "three thousand
rupees" shall be substituted.
[Vide Madhya Pradesh Act, 10 of 1998, s. 3.]
Madhya Pradesh
Amendment of Section 125.- In section 125 of the principal Act,-
(i) for the marginal heading, the following marginal heading shall be
substituted, namely:-
"Order for maintenance of wives, children, parents and
grand parents."
(ii) In sub-section (1), -
(a) after clause (d), the following clause shall be inserted, namely: -
"(e) his grand father, grand mother unable to maintain himself or her self.";
(b) In the existing para, for the words "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 not exceeding three thousand rupees in the whole, as such Magistrate thinks fit, and to pay the same to such person as the Magistrate may from time to time direct", the words 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, mother, grand father, grand 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" shall be substituted;
(c) After the existing first proviso, the
following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-
"Provided further that the relatives in clause (e) shall only be entitled to
monthly allowance for maintenance if their sons daughters are not alive and they
are unable to maintain themselves."
[Vide Madhya Pradesh Act 15 of 2004, s. 3.]
West Bengal
In Sub-section (1) of section 125 of the Principal Act, -
(1) for the words "five hundred rupees", the words "one thousand and five
hundred rupees" shall be substituted;
(2) after the existing proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted:-
"Provided further that where in any proceeding under this section it appears to
the Magistrate that the wife referred to in clause (a) or the minor child
referred to in clause (b) or the child (not being a married daughter) referred
to in clause (c) or the father or the mother referred to in clause (d) is in
need of immediate relief for her or its or his support and the necessary
expenses of the proceeding, the Magistrate may, on the application of the wife
or the minor child or the child (not being a married daughter) or the father or
the mother, as the case may be, order the person against whom the allowance for
maintenance is claimed, to pay to the petitioner, pending the conclusion of the
proceeding, the expenses of the proceeding, and monthly during the proceeding
such allowance as, having regard to the income of such person, it may seem to
the Magistrate to be reasonable.".
[Vide West Bengal Act, 25 of 1992, s. 4.]
West Bengal
In sub-section (1) of section 125 of the principal Act, as amended by the Code
of Criminal Procedure (West Bengal Amendment) Act, 1992, the words "not
exceeding one thousand and five hundred rupees" the proviso shall be omitted.
[Vide West Bengal Act 33 of 2001, s. 3.]
Maharashtra
Amendment of section 125 of Act 2 of 1974.-In Section 125 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973, in its application to the State of Maharashtra
(hereinafter referred to as "the said Code"),-
(a) in sub-section (1),-
(i) for the words "not exceeding five hundred rupees" the words "not exceeding
fifteen hundred rupees" shall be substituted;
(ii) before the existing proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted,
namely:-
"Provided that, the Magistrate, on an application or submission being made,
supported by an affidavit by the person who has applied for the maintenance
under this sub-section, for payment of interim maintenance, on being satisfied
that, there is a prima facie ground for making such order, may direct the person
against whom the application for maintenance has been made, to pay a reasonable
amount by way of interim maintenance to the applicant, pending the final
disposal of the maintenance application:
Provided further that, such order for payment of interim maintenance may, in an
appropriate case, also be made by the Magistrate ex-parte, pending service of
notice of the application subject, however, to the condition that such an order
shall be liable to be modified or even cancelled after the respondent is heard
in the matter:
Provided also that, subject to the ceiling laid down under this sub-section, the
amount of interim maintenance shall, as far as practicable, be not less than
thirty per cent. of the monthly income of the respondent:
(iii) in the existing proviso, for the words "Provided that" the words "Provided
also that" shall be substituted;
(b) after sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:-
"(2A) Notwithstanding anything otherwise contained in sub-sections (1) and (2),
where an application is made by the wife under clause (a) of sub-section (1) for
the maintenance allowance, the applicant may also seek relief that the order may
be made for the payment of monthly maintenance allowance, and the Magistrate
may, after taking into consideration all the circumstances obtaining in the case
including the factors like the age, physical condition, economic conditions and
other liabilities and commitments of both the parties, pass an order that the
respondent shall pay the maintenance allowance in lumpsum in lieu of the monthly
maintenance allowance, covering a specified period, not exceeding five years at
a time, or for such period which may exceed five years, as may be mutually
agreed to, by the parties.";
(c) in sub-section (3),-
(i) after the words "so ordered" the words, brackets, figures and letter "either
under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2A), as the case may be," shall be
inserted;
(ii) after the words "each months allowance" the words "or, as the case may be,
the lump-sum allowance to be paid in lieu of the monthly allowance" shall be
inserted.
[Vide Maharashtra Act 21 of 1999, s. 2]
Uttar Pradesh
In section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, hereinafter referred
to as the principal Act -
(a) in sub-section (1), for the words “five hundred only” the words “five
thousand only” shall be substituted.
(b) after sub-section (5), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely
:-
“(6) Where in a proceeding under this section it appears to the Magistrate that
the person claiming maintenance is in need of immediate relief for his support
and the necessary expenses of the proceeding, the Magistrate may, in his
application, order the person against whom the maintenance is claimed, to pay to
the person claiming the maintenance, during the pendency of the proceeding such
monthly allowance not exceeding five thousand rupees and such expenses of the
proceeding as the Magistrate consider reasonable and such order shall be
enforceable as an order of maintenance.”
[VideUttar Pradesh Act 36 of 2000, s. 2]
Uttar Pradesh
In section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 as amended in its
application to Uttar Pradesh hereinafter referred to as the principal Act in
sub-section (6) the words "not exceeding five thousand rupees" shall be omitted.
[Vide Uttar Pradesh Act 15 of 2011, s. 2]
---------
1. Certain words omitted by Act 50 of 2001, s. 2 (w.e.f. 24-9-2001).
2. Ins. by s. 2, ibid. (w.e.f. 24-9-2001).
3. Subs. by s. 2, ibid., for sub-section (2) (w.e.f. 24-9-2001).
4. Subs. by s. 2, ibid., for "allowance" (w.e.f. 24-9-2001)
5. Subs. by Act 50 of 2001, s. 2, for "allowance" (w.e.f. 24-9-2001).