Maintenance Isn’t Automatic
Maintenance claims can come from a few different places. Sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act. Sections 36–37 of the Special Marriage Act. Or Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) — the provision that replaced the old Section 125 CrPC after 1 July 2024.
But the underlying principle stays the same everywhere. Maintenance exists to prevent destitution. It isn’t meant to punish the paying spouse, and it isn’t meant to reward the one receiving it.
So what do courts actually look at? Several things:
- Income and assets of both spouses
- How long the marriage lasted
- The standard of living during the marriage
- Whether the spouse asking for maintenance is genuinely unable to support herself — or simply choosing not to work
That last point matters more than most people realise.
1. Prove Your Wife Can Support Herself
This is the single most effective ground you have.
If your wife is employed, professionally qualified, or has run a business before, courts won’t just accept “I’m unemployed” at face value. Judges increasingly look at education, work history, and job offers to estimate real earning capacity. This applies even if she isn’t currently working.
For example, if she’s earning close to what you earn — or has the qualifications to be — that’s a strong basis to argue for a reduced or denied claim.
What helps here:
- Her degrees and professional certifications
- Past salary slips or ITRs, if she was previously employed
- LinkedIn or other professional profiles
- Any evidence that unemployment is a choice, not a necessity
2. Adultery Can Be a Complete Bar
Under Section 144(4) of the BNSS, a wife living in adultery isn’t entitled to maintenance at all. This is one of the few grounds that can knock out a claim entirely, not just reduce it.
However, there’s a catch: the evidence bar is high. Courts have made it clear that suspicion, rumours, or a single photograph won’t cut it. You need clear, convincing evidence — not just an allegation.
There’s a useful precedent here too. The Supreme Court has held that when a husband makes out a clear adultery case on record, even interim maintenance can be denied while the matter is being decided.
3. Unjustified Refusal to Live Together
Sometimes a wife leaves the matrimonial home — or refuses to return — without valid reason. No cruelty. No genuine safety concern. Nothing that would justify living apart. In that situation, it can work against her maintenance claim.
That said, courts scrutinise this carefully. If there’s any real cause for her to stay away, this argument won’t hold up. It only works when the separation is genuinely unreasonable on her part.
4. Show That You Genuinely Can’t Pay
Maintenance gets calculated against what you can actually afford. It isn’t an arbitrary number.
So if you’ve lost your job, your income has dropped, you support elderly parents, or you’re carrying serious medical or financial liabilities — all of that is relevant. Courts have consistently rejected fixed percentages or thumb-rule formulas. Every case gets assessed on its own facts and documents.
In other words, a well-documented financial picture matters far more than what you’ve heard other people were ordered to pay.
5. Getting an Existing Order Modified or Cancelled
Maybe maintenance has already been ordered. But your circumstances have genuinely changed since then — you lost your job, your wife started earning, or she remarried.
In that case, Section 146 of the BNSS (which replaced the old Section 127 CrPC) lets you go back to court. You can apply to have the order reduced or cancelled.
This isn’t automatic, though. You need to show a real, provable change in circumstances — not just that you’d prefer to pay less.
What NOT to Do
Trying to dodge maintenance the wrong way almost always backfires. Here’s what to avoid:
- Don’t simply stop paying because you disagree with an order. Unilateral non-payment counts as contempt of court. Courts can attach your salary, freeze your bank accounts, impound your passport, or in persistent cases, order civil imprisonment.
- Don’t hide assets or income. Courts routinely draw adverse inferences when a husband’s disclosed income doesn’t match his visible lifestyle. They can impute income based on evidence, not just what’s declared.
- Don’t falsify affidavits. Signing a sworn asset disclosure you know is inaccurate is a criminal offence on its own — separate from the maintenance case itself.
The right approach is always to contest the amount through evidence and legal argument. Never try to avoid the process altogether.
The Bottom Line
Maintenance law in India isn’t a blank cheque against the husband. It’s designed to be fair, based on actual need and actual capacity on both sides.
If your wife can support herself, if valid grounds like adultery or unjustified separation exist, or if your own financial situation has genuinely changed — these are all real, legitimate arguments. But they need documents behind them. And they need to be presented properly in court to actually work.
If you’re dealing with a maintenance claim, or want an existing order reviewed, Adv. Nitin Kumar Vashista can help you understand what evidence will actually move the needle in your case.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Outcomes depend on the specific facts and evidence in each case. Please consult Adv. Nitin Kumar Vashista or another qualified advocate before taking any legal action.