A child's claim to maintenance does not depend on the fate of the parents' marriage. It can be raised in a summary proceeding under Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 125 CrPC), as an ancillary claim in matrimonial proceedings under Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, or as a substantive right under Section 20 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. The three routes overlap but are not identical — particularly on the questions of illegitimate children, adult children in education, and unmarried daughters. This explainer sets out the framework applied in Delhi courts.
Three statutes, one obligation
Indian law approaches a child's maintenance from three directions. The BNSS provides a secular, summary remedy available to children of every community. The HMA allows the matrimonial court to provide for children while deciding the parents' case. HAMA codifies the personal-law obligation of Hindus to maintain their children and aged parents. The obligation is one and the same in substance — a parent with means must support a child who cannot support itself — but the routes differ in scope and machinery.
| Provision | Who can claim | Until when | Forum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 144(1)(b)–(c) BNSS | Minor child, legitimate or illegitimate, married or unmarried; adult child unable to maintain itself due to abnormality or injury | Majority; beyond majority only on incapacity (minor married daughter: until her husband can maintain her) | Family Court / Magistrate — summary |
| Section 26 HMA | Children of the parties to a matrimonial proceeding under the HMA | During and after the proceeding, as the court directs, consistent with the child's needs and education | The matrimonial court itself |
| Section 20 HAMA | Legitimate and illegitimate children of a Hindu; aged or infirm parents | Minority; unmarried daughter until she can maintain herself, including reasonable marriage expenses | Civil / Family Court — suit |
The adult-student gap and how it is bridged
The most litigated seam between these statutes concerns the child who turns eighteen midway through school or college. Section 144 BNSS, read strictly, ends the claim at majority absent incapacity. Yet the cost of education peaks precisely then. Delhi courts bridge the gap in two ways: for Hindu families, the unmarried daughter's claim continues under Section 20(3) HAMA, and either parent can be directed under Section 26 HMA to bear educational expenses as part of the matrimonial court's wide discretion. In practice, courts fixing maintenance for a custodial parent also often reflect an adult child's educational dependence in the overall award, on the footing that the custodial household in fact bears those costs.
Practice note: When a child is approaching majority, the claim should be restructured in good time — an application under Section 26 HMA in pending matrimonial proceedings, or a HAMA claim for an unmarried daughter — rather than watching a Section 144 BNSS order lapse by operation of age.
How quantum is approached
- Actual, documented needs: school and tuition fees, transport, books, medical expenses, and a proportionate share of household costs.
- The standard of the family: a child is entitled to be maintained consistently with the parents' status, not at bare subsistence.
- Both parents' means: the obligation falls on both parents in proportion to capacity; a working mother's income does not absolve the father, and vice versa.
- Affidavits of assets: Delhi courts require sworn disclosure from both sides, and draw adverse inferences from concealment or suppression of income.
Interplay and double recovery
Because the same child could theoretically be covered by orders under more than one statute — and additionally under Section 20 of the DV Act where domestic violence proceedings exist — courts adjust overlapping awards so that the child receives the highest applicable provision without the paying parent being charged twice for the same head. Every subsequent application must disclose earlier orders; suppression is treated seriously.
Enforcement
Orders under Section 144 BNSS are enforced through Section 144(3): warrants for levy as fines and imprisonment up to a month per month of default, subject to the one-year rule for warrant applications. HMA and HAMA orders are enforceable as decrees, opening execution against salary, bank accounts and property. Where the paying parent is salaried, a direct-deduction arrangement is often the most frictionless outcome for everyone, including the child.
The takeaway
A child's maintenance claim survives the parents' worst litigation. The practitioner's task is architectural: pick the statute that matches the child's age and situation, keep the claim alive across the majority threshold, document needs with school-fee receipts rather than round figures, and secure enforcement mechanics at the time of the order itself. The child's standard of living, not the parents' grievances, is the measure the courts apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an illegitimate child claim maintenance?
Yes. Section 144 BNSS expressly covers a minor child whether legitimate or illegitimate, and Section 20 HAMA obliges a Hindu to maintain legitimate and illegitimate children alike. The child's claim stands on its own footing; disputes between the parents about the relationship do not extinguish it, though paternity, if disputed, must be established.
Does maintenance stop automatically at eighteen?
Under Section 144 BNSS, the statutory entitlement of a child ends at majority unless the child is unable to maintain itself by reason of physical or mental abnormality or injury. But under Section 20(3) HAMA, an unmarried daughter remains entitled so long as she cannot maintain herself out of her own earnings or property, and Delhi courts routinely treat a father's obligation to fund reasonable education as continuing while a child pursues studies, through the appropriate statutory route.
Which forum is faster?
Section 144 BNSS proceedings before the Family Court are summary in nature and designed for speed, with interim maintenance available. Section 26 HMA claims travel with the parents' matrimonial case. HAMA claims are civil suits, slower but capable of more granular relief. The choice depends on what proceedings already exist and what the child actually needs.
Who files the claim for a minor?
The minor acts through a next friend — almost always the parent who has care of the child. The money is for the child, and courts expect it to be applied to the child's needs; the custodial parent's own claim, if any, is separate.