Women’s Right Of Maintenance: Role Of Judiciary

Abstract

The right to maintenance is a crucial safeguard for women, ensuring economic support and dignity, especially in cases of separation, divorce, or neglect. Under the new criminal law framework—Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which replaces the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973—this right is preserved and continues to provide a secular, accessible remedy for women irrespective of religion or personal law. Section 144 of the BNSS, corresponding to the old Section 125 CrPC, retains the provision for maintenance to wives (including divorced wives), children, and parents. This reflects the continuity of the state's commitment to social justice and gender equality. The judiciary continues to play a pivotal role in interpreting and enforcing maintenance rights, ensuring that procedural changes under the new law do not dilute substantive entitlements. Courts have consistently upheld that maintenance is not a matter of charity but a fundamental right linked to Article 21 of the Constitution—right to life with dignity.