Role Of The Indian Judiciary For The Protection Of Wives’ Maintenance Rights
- IJLLR Journal
- May 24
- 1 min read
Poonam Rawat, Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University
Prof. Khaleeq Ahemad, Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University
ABSTRACT
The right of maintenance occupies a pivotal position in Indian family law, embodying the State's commitment to ensuring economic justice and dignity for women whose marital relationships break down. The promulgation of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (“BNSS”), replacing the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, has reformulated the secular maintenance framework under Section 144, while the substantive entitlements of married women continue to be regulated by religiously diverse personal laws. This article undertakes a comparative doctrinal analysis of maintenance rights of wives under the BNSS and the principal personal-law statutes—the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986, the Indian Divorce Act, 1869, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. It engages critically with landmark judgments, including Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum, Danial Latifi v. Union of India, Rajnesh v. Neha, and the recent decision in Mohd. Abdul Samad v. State of Telangana. The article identifies persistent fault-lines in maintenance jurisprudence including chronic procedural delays, the absence of a fixed formula for quantum, strategic non-disclosure of income, multiplicity of forums, and the challenges thrown up by the digital transformation of litigation. It concludes with a set of normative recommendations directed at procedural reform, doctrinal clarity, and the realisation of substantive equality.
Keywords: Maintenance, BNSS, Section 144, Personal Laws, Rajnesh v. Neha, Shah Bano, Gender Justice, Article 15, Substantive Equality.
