These notes are written for litigants and for younger members of the Bar. They explain procedure as it operates in the Delhi courts — the sequence of steps, the timelines that matter, and the points at which a matter is commonly lost. They are general information, not advice on any particular case.
From Which Date Does Maintenance Run? Effective Date and Arrears
Why maintenance is ordinarily awarded from the date of application, how arrears are computed and adjusted, and the one-year warrant rule under Section 144(3) BNSS.
Read → 24 August 2026 · Matrimonial & FamilyMaintenance of Children: Section 144 BNSS, Section 26 HMA and Section 20 HAMA
Three overlapping routes to a child's maintenance — who can claim under each, what happens at majority, and how Delhi courts treat education costs and unmarried daughters.
Read → 24 August 2026 · Matrimonial & FamilyThe Cooling-Off Period in Mutual Consent Divorce under Section 13B HMA
The six to eighteen month window between the two motions: purpose, computation, waiver practice, and the pitfalls that surface between motions.
Read → 24 August 2026 · Matrimonial & FamilyRecognition of Foreign Divorce Decrees in India: The Section 13 CPC Framework
When India recognises a divorce granted abroad — the Section 13 CPC tests, why consent decrees travel well and unilateral ex parte decrees usually do not.
Read → 23 August 2026 · Matrimonial & FamilyProtection Officers under the DV Act – Advocate Manish Jha
Protection Officers, service providers, shelter homes and medical facilities form the support machinery of the DV Act: their appointment, duties and accountability, and how a woman in Delhi actually reaches them.
Read → 23 August 2026 · Matrimonial & FamilyCustody under Section 21 DV Act – Advocate Manish Jha
Section 21 of the DV Act lets the Magistrate grant temporary custody of children to the aggrieved person at any stage of the proceedings and settle visitation, without deciding final guardianship.
Read → 23 August 2026 · Matrimonial & FamilyAltering Maintenance: Section 146 BNSS – Advocate Manish Jha
A maintenance order under Section 144 BNSS can be increased, reduced or cancelled on a change in circumstances: the grounds under Section 146 BNSS (formerly Section 127 CrPC), and the procedure to invoke them.
Read → 23 August 2026 · Matrimonial & FamilyHow Courts Fix Maintenance Quantum – Advocate Manish Jha
Neither destitution nor a windfall: the factors Delhi courts weigh in fixing the monthly maintenance figure, the affidavit of assets and liabilities, and how income is imputed to a spouse who conceals earnings.
Read → 23 August 2026 · Matrimonial & FamilyAdultery as a Divorce Ground After 2018 – Advocate Manish Jha
Adultery has not been a criminal offence since 2018 and finds no place in the BNS, but it remains a complete civil ground for divorce under Section 13(1)(i) HMA: proof, condonation and its effect on maintenance.
Read → 23 August 2026 · Matrimonial & FamilyDivorce Grounds Only the Wife Can Use – Advocate Manish Jha
Section 13(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act reserves four divorce grounds for the wife alone, including the little-used route that converts a maintenance decree plus a year of separation into a ground for divorce.
Read → 22 August 2026 · Matrimonial & FamilyA Mother's Earnings Do Not Halve the Father's Duty: The Supreme Court on Child Maintenance
In Sujata Kumari v. Rahul Kumar, 2026 INSC 896, the Supreme Court restored a Family Court's interim maintenance award for two minor daughters, holding that parental obligation "cannot be divided by arithmetic alone".
Read → 22 August 2026 · Matrimonial & FamilyProtection Orders Under Section 18 of the DV Act
The preventive backbone of the Act of 2005 — what a protection order forbids, how it is obtained before the Magistrate, and why its breach is a criminal offence.
Read →What Is Covered Here
The chamber writes on the areas in which it appears: criminal procedure under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, bail practice, matrimonial and family proceedings before the Delhi Family Courts, cheque dishonour and recovery, and proceedings before the NCLT and the Motor Accident Claims Tribunals. Notes on reported judgments of the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi are published with a link to the official text of the decision, so that a reader can verify the position rather than rely on a summary.
No article on this page identifies a client or discusses a pending matter conducted by the chamber. Where a statutory provision is cited, the section number is given so that a reader can verify it against the bare Act.