Maintenance in Delhi can be ordered under at least four statutes — Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (the successor to Section 125 CrPC), Sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, Section 20 of the Domestic Violence Act, and Section 18 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act. Each has its own route of challenge, and choosing the wrong one costs months. This article maps the remedies available to a husband aggrieved by an award, and equally to a wife aggrieved by an inadequate one.
First identify the statute, then the remedy
The commonest error in this field is treating "maintenance" as a single jurisdiction. It is not. The forum that passed the order and the statute it acted under together fix the appellate route, and the routes are not interchangeable. A revision filed where an appeal lay, or an appeal filed against an order that is only revisable, will be returned or dismissed — usually after limitation has run.
| Order | Forum that passed it | Route of challenge |
|---|---|---|
| Final order under Section 144 BNSS (125 CrPC) | Family Court / Magistrate | Criminal revision to the High Court |
| Interim order under Section 144 BNSS | Family Court / Magistrate | Article 227 petition; revision generally resisted as interlocutory |
| Maintenance pendente lite, Section 24 HMA | Family Court | Appeal under Section 19(1), Family Courts Act (Delhi view) |
| Permanent alimony, Section 25 HMA | Family Court | Appeal under Section 19, Family Courts Act |
| Monetary relief / interim relief under DV Act | Magistrate | Appeal under Section 29 to the Court of Session, within 30 days |
| Section 18 HAMA maintenance decree | Family Court / Civil Court | First appeal as from a decree |
What a revisional court will and will not do
Revision against a Section 144 BNSS order is supervisory. The High Court asks whether the order is legal, regular and proper — not whether it would itself have fixed a different figure. Interference typically follows where the trial court ignored the affidavit of assets, attributed income without material, overlooked a disqualification pleaded and proved, granted maintenance from a date without reasons, or computed arrears wrongly. A mere quarrel with quantum, without perversity, rarely succeeds.
The special problem of interim orders
Interim maintenance is meant to be quick and tentative, so the system discourages appellate battles over it. Two safety valves exist. First, the court that passed the interim order can itself vary it on a change of circumstances — a job loss, a remarriage, fresh disclosure of income. Second, the High Court under Article 227 corrects jurisdictional excess: unreasoned orders, amounts fixed contrary to the affidavits, or refusal to decide the interim application at all. Petitioners should come with clean hands; a challenger in arrears is usually put to terms before being heard.
Weak challenge
"The amount is too high." No compliance, no deposit, quantum-only grievance, affidavit incomplete.
Strong challenge
Order ignores documented income of the claimant, attributes income without any material, or awards double recovery across overlapping orders — with compliance up to date.
Points that decide these challenges in practice
For a wife aggrieved by an inadequate award, the same routes apply in reverse — and enhancement petitions succeed most often where the trial court accepted the husband's pleaded income at face value despite lifestyle evidence to the contrary.
Takeaway
Challenging a maintenance order is a targeted exercise: identify the statute, pick the corresponding remedy, comply while you challenge, and attack findings rather than outcomes. The scattergun approach — filing everything everywhere — signals weakness and invites costs. This article is general information on practice in the Delhi courts and is not legal advice on any individual matter.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the remedy against a Section 144 BNSS maintenance order?
A final order of the Family Court or Magistrate granting or refusing maintenance is ordinarily challenged in criminal revision before the High Court under the BNSS. Revision is not a re-hearing: the court examines legality and propriety, and interferes where the order is perverse, ignores material evidence or misapplies the law.
Can interim maintenance orders be challenged at all?
They can, but the threshold is high. Interim orders are discretionary and tentative, and superior courts are slow to interfere except where the order is unreasoned, ignores the affidavits of income, or fixes an amount wholly disproportionate to the record. A petition under Article 227 of the Constitution is the usual vehicle where revision is not maintainable.
Is an order under Section 24 HMA appealable?
The Delhi High Court has taken the view that orders of maintenance pendente lite under Section 24 HMA affect valuable rights and are appealable under Section 19(1) of the Family Courts Act. The point should always be checked against current practice, since the appealability of interlocutory orders has generated divergent views across High Courts.
Does filing a challenge stay the maintenance?
No. There is no automatic stay, and courts typically require ongoing compliance — or at least substantial deposit — as a condition of entertaining a challenge. Arrears that accrue during the challenge remain payable unless specifically stayed.