Who can claim Maintenance?

Under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, the following persons can claim maintenance, if they satisfy the legal conditions:

Wife - Section 18, HAMA (Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act), 1956

Widowed daughter-in-law -Section 19, HAMA

Children (legitimate and illegitimate, minors) and unmarried daughters -Section 20, HAMA

Aged parents - Section 20, HAMA

Dependants of a deceased Hindu (parents, widow, minor sons/grandsons, unmarried daughters/granddaughters, widowed daughters, daughters-in-law) -Sections 21–22, HAMA

Either spouse in matrimonial proceedings - Sections 24–25, Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

Wife (including a divorced wife who hasn't remarried) and illegitimate children - Section 144, BNSS( Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), 2023.