This is one of the most useful and most under-used provisions in matrimonial practice. You do not have to wait for the final decree to get support.
Section 24, Hindu Marriage Act
Where either the wife or the husband has no independent income sufficient for their support and the necessary expenses of the proceeding, the court may order the other spouse to pay the expenses of the proceeding and a monthly sum during the case. Note that it is worded neutrally: a husband without means can apply, though courts scrutinise earning capacity closely.
The parallel routes
- Section 144 BNSS (formerly Section 125 CrPC), where the Magistrate can order interim maintenance while the application is pending
- Section 23 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, for interim and ex parte orders including monetary relief
- Section 18, Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, for a wife's right to be maintained
These can run together. Courts adjust the amounts so nothing is recovered twice, which is exactly what Rajnesh v. Neha (2020) laid down guidelines for.
Rajnesh v. Neha directs that maintenance is ordinarily awarded from the date of the application. Every month you delay filing is a month you are unlikely to recover. And file the affidavit of disclosure properly: bank statements, salary slips, tax returns, EPF records, credit card statements. Interim applications are decided summarily, so the party with documents usually wins the number.
Litigation expenses are separate
Section 24 covers the expenses of the proceeding, not only living costs. If you cannot fund the case, ask for this expressly. It is routinely overlooked in the application and then cannot be argued later.
If the other side hides income
Courts are alive to sudden resignations, salary reductions and cash businesses. Judges are entitled to draw adverse inferences from non-disclosure, and can look at lifestyle, property, foreign travel and standard of living rather than the declared figure alone.