Two questions come up with surprising frequency in family practice. A widowed mother with young children asks: can the children claim maintenance from their paternal grandfather? And an elderly couple neglected by a deceased son’s family asks: can we claim from our grandchildren? The summary jurisdiction under Section 144 of the BNSS answers neither — it binds parents, not grandparents. But two other statutes do cross the generational line, each in a specific, condition-bound way.
The default machinery stops at parents
Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — the successor to Section 125 CrPC — is deliberately narrow about who owes whom. It binds a person of sufficient means to maintain the spouse, the minor child (and, in defined situations, an adult child unable to maintain itself), and his or her father or mother. The grandparent–grandchild relationship appears nowhere in it, in either direction. The summary, magistrate-level remedy therefore cannot be aimed at a grandfather while the real defaulter is a living, able-bodied parent — and courts are rightly resistant to attempts to convert the provision into a family-wide liability net.
Route one: grandchildren as dependants under HAMA
The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 operates on a different premise: not neglect by a living parent, but the death of the family’s earning member. Section 21 defines the “dependants” of a deceased Hindu — a list that includes the widow, parents, minor sons, unmarried daughters, and, critically for the present question, the minor grandson and the unmarried granddaughter of a predeceased son, where they cannot obtain maintenance from their own parents or from their parents’ estate. Section 22 then supplies the obligation: the heirs of the deceased who take his estate must maintain the dependants out of that estate, each in proportion to the share taken.
In practice this route matters most for widowed daughters-in-law and their children living in the late grandfather’s property, when the extended family controls the estate: the claim is framed as a civil suit for maintenance against the heirs, with the estate as the measure.
Route two: the Senior Citizens Act runs the other way
The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 widens the net in the opposite direction. Its definition of “children” includes son, daughter, grandson and grand-daughter — excluding minors — and it entitles a parent or grandparent unable to maintain himself from his own earnings or property to apply to the Maintenance Tribunal for a monthly allowance. The obligation rests on the relative’s capacity and the senior citizen’s need, the procedure is summary, and the forum is a tribunal rather than a civil court. For elderly people whose own children have died or are themselves without means, adult grandchildren are squarely within reach.
The map, side by side
| Claim | Statute | Forum | Key condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor child against parent | Section 144 BNSS / Section 20 HAMA | Magistrate / Family Court; civil court | Parent’s means and neglect |
| Grandchild against grandfather’s estate | Sections 21–22 HAMA | Civil court / Family Court | Grandfather deceased; parent predeceased; claimant unable to obtain maintenance from parents’ estate |
| Grandparent against adult grandchild | Senior Citizens Act, 2007 | Maintenance Tribunal | Senior citizen unable to maintain himself; grandchild not a minor |
Practice notes
Choose the statute before drafting: a dependant claim misfiled as a Section 144 BNSS petition against grandparents invites dismissal on maintainability, costing months.
In dependant claims, plead and prove the estate — what the deceased left, who took it, and in what shares — because the estate is both the basis and the ceiling of the liability.
For senior citizens, the 2007 Act’s tribunal route is faster than a civil suit and sits alongside, not in place of, rights under HAMA; the appropriate forum depends on what is really sought — a monthly allowance, or protection of residence and property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a minor child claim maintenance from a living grandfather under Section 144 BNSS?
No. Section 144 of the BNSS, like Section 125 CrPC before it, places the obligation on the parent — the person who, having sufficient means, neglects or refuses to maintain his or her minor child. It creates no summary remedy against grandparents while the parents are alive and the claim is against them.
When can grandchildren claim under Hindu law?
Through the dependant provisions of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. Where a Hindu dies, Section 21 lists his dependants — including the minor grandson and unmarried granddaughter of a predeceased son, to the extent they cannot obtain maintenance from their own parents or the parents’ estate — and Section 22 obliges the heirs who take the deceased’s estate to maintain those dependants out of it.
Is the grandparent personally liable, or only the estate?
The HAMA route is estate-linked: the heirs’ obligation under Section 22 is to maintain the dependants out of the estate they inherit, and proportionate to its value. It is not an open-ended personal liability of the grandparents from their own earnings.
Can grandparents claim maintenance from grandchildren?
Yes, under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007. Its definition of “children” includes sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters (other than minors), so a senior citizen unable to maintain himself can proceed before the Maintenance Tribunal against adult grandchildren — a practical route where the children themselves have died or lack means.