Section 125 CrPC maintenance, now Section 144 BNSS: who can claim and how much

What it is

Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure gave a wife, a child or a parent who cannot maintain themselves a right to apply to a magistrate for a monthly allowance. It sits in a criminal statute but it is not a criminal provision in substance. It exists to stop destitution, and it was designed to be quick.

On 1 July 2024 the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced the CrPC. The maintenance provision is now Section 144 BNSS. The wording carried over almost untouched and so did the case law. If you are reading a judgement from before July 2024 it will say Section 125, and everything in it still applies.

Worth knowing The old Rs 500 monthly ceiling was removed in 2001. There is no statutory maximum now. Any website still quoting a Rs 500 limit is more than two decades out of date.

Who can claim

A wife, including a divorced wife who has not remarried
A legitimate or illegitimate minor child
An adult child who cannot maintain themselves because of a physical or mental abnormality
A father or mother unable to maintain themselves

It is religion neutral. That matters more than it sounds. A Muslim divorced woman can use Section 125, and the Supreme Court confirmed exactly that in Mohd. Abdul Samad v. State of Telangana in 2024. The 1986 Act gives her an additional remedy. It does not take this one away.

A husband cannot claim under this section. If you are a man seeking maintenance your route is Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which is worded neutrally.

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When living separately is allowed

A wife living apart from her husband does not lose the right, provided she has a good reason. The statute names two outright: he has married again, or he keeps a mistress. Courts have added cruelty, desertion and a refusal to maintain her.

What defeats a claim is living in adultery, refusing without sufficient reason to live with the husband, or living separately by mutual consent.

How much, and from when

There is no formula in the section. Magistrates work from the same benchmark as everywhere else, roughly a quarter of net income, adjusted for the factors set out in Rajnesh v. Neha.

The date matters as much as the amount. Since Rajnesh v. Neha, maintenance is normally ordered from the date of the application rather than the date of the order. Section 125 proceedings routinely take two or three years, so that single direction can be worth a large arrears sum.

Enforcement is the section's real advantage. If an order is not complied with a magistrate can issue a warrant, and can sentence for up to a month for each month unpaid. It is the sharpest enforcement tool in Indian maintenance law, and the reason many applicants use it even when a civil route is open.

Questions people actually ask

Is Section 125 CrPC still valid in 2026?

Yes, in substance. It was renumbered as Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita with effect from 1 July 2024. The text and the precedent carry over.

Is there a maximum amount under Section 125?

No. The Rs 500 monthly ceiling was removed by amendment in 2001.

Can a Muslim divorced woman file under Section 125?

Yes. The Supreme Court confirmed it in Mohd. Abdul Samad v. State of Telangana (2024). The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 provides an additional remedy rather than an exclusive one.

How long does a Section 125 case take?

The section contemplates disposal within sixty days of notice. In practice two to three years is common, which is why the direction to backdate maintenance to the application date matters so much.

This page summarises a reported judgement for general information. It is not legal advice and it is not a substitute for reading the judgement itself or speaking to a lawyer about your own facts.