Interim Maintenance Must Begin from Date of Application, Not Order: Allahabad High Court Slams Delays
By Rajesh Pandey
Holding that interim maintenance must be granted from the date an application is filed and not from the date of the court’s order, the Allahabad High Court has strongly criticised prolonged delays in deciding maintenance matters, observing that such delays often push women into financial distress and defeat the very purpose of the law.
Allowing a petition filed under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) by the applicant-wife, Sonam Yadav, Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla emphasised that pendency of proceedings in court, without any interim relief, should never operate to the disadvantage of a litigant seeking sustenance.
The court categorically ruled that, just as final maintenance is ordinarily awarded from the date of the application, interim maintenance too must follow the same principle.
Any other interpretation, the court said, would be contrary to both justice and legislative intent.
Background of the case
The petitioner had approached the family court at Kaushambi seeking interim maintenance.
While her application was filed on August 5, 2024, the family court granted interim maintenance only from April 3, 2025, the date of its order.
Aggrieved by this delay, she moved the High Court, contending that she was unjustly deprived of financial support for several months despite approaching the court in time.
Relying on the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of India in Rajnesh vs Neha (2021), the petitioner argued that the apex court had already settled the law that maintenance should normally be awarded from the date of the application.
The husband’s counsel, however, sought to distinguish the ruling, claiming that it applied only to final maintenance orders and not to interim relief.
Court rejects husband’s argument
Rejecting this contention, Justice Shukla held that welfare-oriented provisions enacted for the benefit of women must be interpreted in a manner that advances, rather than frustrates, their object.
“A provision which has been enacted for the benefit of a particular class must be interpreted in a manner that promotes the relief contemplated by the law,” the court observed.
It added that once interim maintenance is found to be warranted, the only reasonable conclusion flowing from the Supreme Court’s directions is that such maintenance must also be granted from the date of the application.
The court underscored that interim maintenance applications often remain pending for years, and limiting relief to the date of the order would effectively penalise the applicant for systemic delays.
Sharp remarks on procedural delays
Taking a grim view of the timeline in the present case, the High Court noted that the wife had initially filed her main application under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code as far back as October 2023.
Her application for interim maintenance was moved on August 5, 2024. Despite a statutory mandate requiring such applications to be disposed of, as far as possible, within 60 days, objections were filed only in January 2025, and the impugned order came in April 2025 — well beyond the stipulated period.
Calling this a “sad reality,” the court remarked that the prolonged pendency of interim maintenance applications is common across courts, leaving women without any financial support during the most vulnerable phase of litigation.
Purpose of maintenance law reaffirmed
The High Court reiterated that maintenance provisions exist to protect women and children who have been deserted by their husbands or fathers, or who have valid reasons to live separately and lack adequate means of livelihood.
“Permitting a woman to live in penury while her application for interim maintenance is being decided cannot be the intent of the law,” the court said.
It stressed that the very filing of a maintenance application reflects the urgency and necessity of financial support, and therefore, relief must logically relate to that date.
Final directions
In its order dated December 17, the High Court modified the family court’s decision and directed that interim maintenance be paid to the petitioner from August 5, 2024 — the date on which she filed her application — instead of April 3, 2025.
The ruling is expected to have a wider impact by reinforcing timely relief in maintenance cases and discouraging procedural delays that undermine the dignity and survival of women litigants.
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