Laws Relating to Maintenance in India: An Analysis

The provisions for maintenance under various laws are intended to fulfil a social purpose. These provisions are contained in various personal as well as secular laws. The personal laws relating to maintenance is different from one religion to other religion. Whereas, the secular laws like, Criminal Procedure Code,1973 and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 have provided relief to the aggrieved irrespective of religion. The object of all these provisions is to compel a man to perform the moral obligations, which he owes to the society in respect of his wife, children and parents. Hence, this article is an attempt to highlight the laws available to the aggrieved parties to claim maintenance under various circumstances.