From Which Date Does Maintenance Start in India? The Answer That Changes Your Entire Strategy.

Written by Adv. Aman Chawla | Matrimonial Law Specialist | Delhi High Court & Supreme Court of India 8 Years Exclusive Practice in Family & Matrimonial Law | July 2026

Let me give you the answer at the start, because it matters more than anything else in this article.

Under Indian law in 2026, maintenance — whether under Section 144 BNSS, Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, or the Domestic Violence Act — starts from the date you file the application. Not from the date you separated. Not from the date the court passes the final order. Not from the date you first told your husband to leave or he stopped paying. From the date the application is filed before the court.

That single fact has enormous practical consequences for both sides of every maintenance dispute in India. For wives, it means every day you delay filing is money you will never recover. For husbands, it means court delays don’t reduce your liability — your arrears are accumulating from the day she files, whether or not a judge has signed an order.

This article explains why, under which provisions, and what recent 2026 rulings in Delhi have added to this picture. And it explains the one situation where the date of separation CAN matter — and under what circumstances courts have gone back further than the filing date.

1. The Supreme Court’s Foundational Direction: Rajnesh v. Neha (2021)

The governing framework for maintenance commencement was settled by the Supreme Court in Rajnesh v. Neha & Anr. (2021) 2 SCC 324 — one of the most comprehensive maintenance rulings in Indian legal history.

Among the detailed directions the three-judge bench issued, one is directly relevant to this question:

“Maintenance should be granted from the date of filing of the application for maintenance.”

This is now a binding direction on all courts across India — family courts, district courts, magistrate courts, and high courts all hearing maintenance applications under any provision.

The rationale the SC provided is straightforward: awarding maintenance only from the date the court eventually passes the final order would reward husbands for delaying the proceedings. In a system where cases can take years to conclude, a husband who managed to push the case to its fifth year would be paying only from year five — despite the wife having been without support from year one.

The Rajnesh v. Neha direction closes this loophole. Your liability, and your entitlement, runs from the date the application is placed before the court — regardless of how many adjournments happen between that date and the final order.

2. The Delhi HC’s April 2026 Reaffirmation

The Delhi HC applied this principle specifically and emphatically in Anurag Manohar Kankerwal v. Soham Rani (CRL.M.C. 5097/2024 & CRL.M.A. 19483/2024, April 2026).

The parties had separated in April 2019. The wife filed for maintenance in October 2020 — seventeen months after the separation. The husband argued that the interim maintenance should be computed only from October 2020 (the filing date), and not backdated to April 2019 (the separation date).

The Delhi HC agreed with the husband on this specific point — but the more significant ruling was the broader position it confirmed: maintenance liability runs from the filing date (October 2020), not from any earlier date. The Court rejected any attempt to backdate liability to the separation itself.

The ruling stated plainly: “Interim maintenance is strictly from the date of application — even if separation happened much earlier, the burden still falls on the husband once the case is filed.”

The practical impact for husbands was stark: despite the fact that only a portion of his claimed liabilities were accepted by the court, the maintenance liability ran backward to October 2020 — not forward from the date of the order. Every month the case took to conclude, arrears were accumulating.

3. The BNSS 60-Day Rule — The New Speed Guarantee

Before the BNSS came into force in July 2024, there was no statutory deadline for courts to decide interim maintenance applications. Cases could — and frequently did — sit without an interim order for months or even years.

Section 144(2) BNSS 2023 changed this:

“As far as possible, such order for interim maintenance shall be disposed of within sixty days from the date of service of notice on the respondent.”

This is a statutory mandate. Interim maintenance applications under Section 144 BNSS must be decided within 60 days of the first hearing at which the respondent appears.

Why this matters for the “from which date” question:

The 60-day rule does not change the date FROM WHICH maintenance is payable — that remains the filing date, per Rajnesh v. Neha. What it changes is how quickly the wife receives the first payment.

Before BNSS: Wife filed in January. Interim order came in July. The July order would be for maintenance from January (filing date), but there was a six-month gap during which she received nothing.

After BNSS: Wife files in January. Within 60 days of first hearing — by March or April — the interim order is passed. The order covers maintenance from January (still the filing date), but she starts receiving money within 2–4 months rather than waiting 6–12 months.

This means the practical impact of filing immediately is now even greater than before — because the 60-day rule means you receive the benefit of the filing-date start far more quickly.

4. What Happens to Maintenance Under Section 24 HMA?

Maintenance under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act — interim maintenance during the pendency of divorce proceedings — follows a slightly different analysis, and courts have not been entirely uniform on this.

The general position in Delhi:

Most Delhi Family Court judges and the Delhi HC apply the same Rajnesh v. Neha principle — maintenance under Section 24 runs from the date of the Section 24 application, not from the date of separation or from the date of the divorce petition being filed.

However, there is a divergence in practice: some courts award maintenance from the date the divorce petition itself was filed (treating the filing of the petition as implicitly including a maintenance request), while others require a separate, formal Section 24 application and start the clock from that application’s filing date.

The practical takeaway:

If you are filing for divorce and also need maintenance during the proceedings, file a formal Section 24 application simultaneously with or immediately after the divorce petition — do not wait for a hearing. Every week between the petition filing and the Section 24 application filing is a week of potential maintenance you may not recover.

5. What About the Domestic Violence Act?

Monetary relief under Section 22 of the DV Act — which functions as maintenance for women in domestic relationships including void marriages and live-in relationships — follows the same general principle: from the date of filing the DV complaint before the Magistrate.

The DV Act actually has an advantage over Section 144 BNSS in terms of speed, as Magistrates can pass interim orders at the very first hearing in urgent cases. Combined with the retroactive effect running from the filing date, this makes the DV Act route one of the fastest ways to secure both financial protection and retroactive liability from a specific date.

If you are in a situation involving both domestic violence and a need for maintenance, the DV Act complaint filed first creates the earliest possible starting date for financial liability.

6. Can Maintenance Ever Start BEFORE the Filing Date?

This question comes up frequently — particularly from wives who were separated for two or three years before filing, and who wonder whether they can recover maintenance for those years of separation even though they did not file at the time.

The general answer is no — courts do not award maintenance for the period before the application was filed. The Rajnesh v. Neha direction is specifically framed as “from the date of filing” and courts have applied this as a limit, not a floor.

The exceptional circumstances:

There are narrow situations where courts have considered going back further, but these require specific additional facts:

Where the husband’s conduct during the period before filing actively prevented the wife from approaching the court — intimidation, threats, coercive control that demonstrably stopped her from filing earlier. These facts must be specifically pleaded and proved.

Where a prior maintenance order was passed, compliance stopped, and a fresh application is filed — courts may consider the period of default even if it predates the fresh application.

These are exceptions, not rules. Plan on the filing date being your start date and act accordingly.

7. The Strategic Consequences — For Both Sides

If you are the wife:

The most important strategic insight from this legal position is simple: every day you delay filing is money you lose and cannot recover.

The date you file your maintenance application is the date your financial protection begins. If you separated in January and filed in June, you have lost five months of maintenance that no court can give you back. If you filed in January, your maintenance runs from January — even if the final order only comes in December.

This is why I consistently tell every client who is considering filing for maintenance: do not wait. Do not spend three months gathering documents before filing. File first, gather documents as the case progresses. The filing date is your most valuable legal date.

If you are the husband:

Court delays do not reduce your liability. Every adjournment your lawyer takes, every extension the court grants, every month the case runs without a final order — all of this is time during which your arrears are accumulating from the date she filed.

A husband who thinks “the case hasn’t been decided yet so I don’t need to pay” is wrong, and will face a substantial arrears order when the case is finally concluded. The arrears will be calculated from the filing date, not from the order date.

The realistic approach is to engage seriously with the maintenance proceedings from the beginning — not to delay in the hope that the amount will be reduced, but to ensure the assessment is based on accurate financial disclosure and a realistic picture of your capacity. See our guides on what courts consider when calculating maintenance and on the lifestyle income principle for the specific factors that affect the assessment.

8. The Overlapping Orders Problem — When You Have Multiple Cases

Many maintenance disputes in India generate multiple parallel proceedings in different courts — a Section 144 BNSS application before the Magistrate, a Section 24 HMA application in the Family Court for interim maintenance during divorce proceedings, and sometimes a DV Act complaint before a different Magistrate.

Each of these creates a separate “from date” — and the Supreme Court in Rajnesh v. Neha specifically addressed this: courts must not allow a wife to receive double maintenance for the same period from different proceedings. Where multiple orders exist covering the same period, they must be adjusted against each other — the wife receives the higher of the amounts for any given period, not both.

This means: even where you have filed in multiple courts for maximum coverage, the “from date” principle applies to the earliest filing, and the total maintenance for any period is the higher of the concurrent orders, not their sum.

This adjustment is handled by the courts on application by either party. It is important to disclose all maintenance proceedings to each court and lawyer to avoid enforcement complications later.

Consult Adv. Aman Chawla, Matrimonial Law Specialist, practising before the Supreme Court of India, Delhi High Court, and all Delhi district courts. Available for urgent matters, outstation clients, and online consultations across India.

Call / WhatsApp: +91-8076836899 | Email: info@thematrimoniallawyers.com Office: O-11A Basement, Jangpura Extension, New Delhi – 110014

9. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. From which date is maintenance payable in India?

From the date you file the maintenance application — not from the date of separation and not from the date the court passes the final order. This is the Supreme Court’s binding direction from Rajnesh v. Neha & Anr. (2021) 2 SCC 324, reaffirmed by the Delhi High Court in April 2026 (Anurag Manohar Kankerwal v. Soham Rani, CRL.M.C. 5097/2024). Every month between your filing date and the final order accumulates as arrears payable by the husband.

Q2. We separated two years ago but I only just filed. Can I get maintenance for the last two years?

No. Maintenance under Section 144 BNSS and the Rajnesh v. Neha framework runs from the date of filing your application — not from the date of separation. The two years before you filed are not covered. This is why it is critical to file as early as possible after the situation warrants it — every day of delay in filing is a day of maintenance you cannot recover.

Q3. My husband says I won’t get any money until the court passes a final order. Is that right?

No. The date of the court order is NOT the start date for maintenance. The start date is the date you filed your application. The court’s order will cover all maintenance arrears from the filing date onward — including the period during which the case was being heard. Your husband’s arrears from the filing date will be calculated and included in the final order.

Q4. How quickly can I get an interim maintenance order in Delhi?

Under Section 144(2) BNSS 2023, interim maintenance applications must be decided within 60 days of the first hearing at which the respondent appears. In practice, a well-filed application in a Delhi Family Court or Magistrate Court should produce an interim maintenance order within 60–90 days of filing. This 60-day mandate is a new statutory protection that did not exist under the old CrPC.

Q5. If I file for maintenance under both Section 144 BNSS and the DV Act, do I get double maintenance?

No. The Supreme Court’s Rajnesh v. Neha direction requires courts to adjust overlapping maintenance orders. Where you have orders under multiple provisions covering the same period, the higher of the two amounts applies for that period — you do not receive both. Both filings should be disclosed to each court and the adjustment applied. Filing under multiple provisions does increase your total coverage and protection, but not your total maintenance receipt for any given period.

Q6. I’ve been paying maintenance for three years without a court order, voluntarily. Does the court count this?

It depends on how it was structured. Voluntary informal payments made without a court order or formal agreement are a fact the court can consider — but they are not automatic “credit” against court-ordered arrears. Courts will assess these payments and may credit them against the arrears from the filing date. The amount paid voluntarily and the regularity of those payments will be examined. If you have been paying informally, document every payment with bank records and written acknowledgments where possible.

Q7. For maintenance during my divorce case (Section 24 HMA), does it also start from the filing date?

Generally yes — most Delhi Family Courts and the Delhi HC apply the same Rajnesh v. Neha principle to Section 24 applications. However, there is some variation: some courts start Section 24 maintenance from the date the divorce petition was filed (earlier), others from the date of the specific Section 24 application (later if the application came after the petition). File a formal Section 24 application simultaneously with or immediately after your divorce petition to capture the earliest possible starting date.

Q8. My husband deliberately kept delaying the maintenance case. Can I claim maintenance for the entire delay period?

Yes — the arrears for the entire period from your filing date to the date of the final order are payable by the husband. Court delays, adjournments taken by the husband’s side, and tactical prolongation of the case do not reduce his liability. The accumulating arrears from the filing date are precisely the consequence that Rajnesh v. Neha intended to address. The husband cannot avoid liability by delaying the case.

Q9. Permanent alimony under Section 25 HMA — when does that start?

Section 25 is different from interim maintenance provisions. It allows the court to award permanent alimony “at the time of passing any decree or at any time subsequent thereto on application.” The start date for Section 25 alimony is typically either the date the Section 25 application is filed or the date of the divorce decree, at the court’s discretion. It is not automatic — you must file a Section 25 application. Read our full guide on permanent alimony under Section 25 HMA for the complete picture.

Q10. What is the most important thing I can do RIGHT NOW if I need maintenance?

File today. Do not wait until you have all your documents. Do not wait until you “feel ready.” Do not wait until after the next court date in your other proceedings. The filing date is your most important legal date in a maintenance case — it is the date your protection begins and the date the husband’s liability starts accumulating. Everything else — the documents, the evidence, the calculation — can be built during the case. What cannot be recovered is the time before you file. Contact a maintenance lawyer today and file your application before the next business day ends.

Written by Adv. Aman Chawla. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is fact-specific. Please consult a qualified lawyer before taking any legal action.