Can Maintenance Be Reduced If Your Income Falls?

Can you reduce maintenance if your income falls? The short answer

Yes. Indian law treats maintenance as a running obligation that can be changed when circumstances change, so you can apply to reduce maintenance if your income has fallen in a real and lasting way. The court will compare your position today with your position when the order was passed, and decide whether the amount should come down, and by how much.

What the law does not allow is a reduction by self-help. The order stands until the court changes it. A husband who loses his job in March and starts paying half the amount in April, without applying, will find that the full amount keeps adding up as arrears. When he finally applies in October, the court will usually reduce only from the date of his application, and the April to October shortfall remains due.

Courts are also suspicious by experience. Many applications for alteration of maintenance are filed soon after an order goes against the husband, with a sudden story of losses. Judges in Delhi family courts see these every week, and they look hard at timing, at bank statements and at lifestyle. A genuine fall in income, shown on paper, usually gets a fair hearing. A paper loss with a new car parked outside does not.

The provisions that allow a change in maintenance

What counts as a real change in circumstances

The change must be material, meaning big enough to affect what is fair, and it must have happened after the order. A loss of 5 per cent of salary rarely justifies a fresh hearing. Losing a job, a business closing, a forced early retirement or a serious illness that stops you working are the classic cases where courts do lower the amount.

The change can be on the other side too. If your wife was unemployed when the order was passed and now earns a steady salary, that is a change in circumstances. If a child for whom you pay has become a major and is self-supporting, or a daughter has married, the basis of that part of the order may have gone. Remember that a divorced wife who remarries ceases to be entitled under Section 144, and Section 146 lets the court cancel the order from the date of remarriage.

Some things are generally not enough on their own. A voluntary home loan taken after the order, a second marriage, or the birth of a child in a new family will be considered, but courts in Delhi have repeatedly said that the first family's claim is not pushed behind new commitments the husband chose to take on. Courts deduct compulsory items such as income tax and provident fund from salary; they rarely deduct voluntary EMIs for an asset that the husband himself owns.

A change that the court already knew about when it passed the order is not a new change. If your business was already in trouble when the order was made and the court took that into account, you will need to show that things have since got materially worse.

When courts refuse a reduction

The most common reason for refusal is that the fall in income looks deliberate. An able-bodied husband who resigns from a well-paid job soon after a maintenance order, or who suddenly takes up a much lower-paid post with a relative's firm, will usually be assessed on what he is capable of earning, not on what he chooses to earn. The Supreme Court has said in Shamima Farooqui v. Shahid Khan (2015) and Anju Garg v. Deepak Kumar Garg (2022) that a husband who is physically fit is obliged to earn and support his wife and children, and that obligation does not disappear with a resignation letter.

The second reason is concealment. If the bank statements show cash deposits, regular transfers to a mother or brother, or spending that does not match the claimed income, the court will draw an adverse inference. The Rajnesh v. Neha affidavit makes this harder to hide, because it asks for details of assets, vehicles, investments and household expenses, and a false affidavit can lead to perjury proceedings.

When Advocate B.K. Singh examines a request to reduce maintenance, he first compares the income figures in the client's original disclosure affidavit with what the client says now. If the first affidavit understated income to keep the award low, a later claim that income has fallen starts with a credibility problem, and he says so plainly before anything is filed.

The third reason is timing combined with arrears. An application filed only after a recovery application or warrant, by a husband who has paid nothing for a year, invites the question of whether it is a genuine request or a delaying tactic. Courts often ask such applicants to clear some or all of the arrears before they will consider a reduction on its merits.

How to apply for alteration of maintenance, step by step

The process is broadly the same whether the order was under Section 144 BNSS, the Hindu Marriage Act or the DV Act. Only the court and the section change.

1. Identify every order you pay under

   List each maintenance order: the court, case number, date, section and amount. Many people pay under two or three orders. Each order has to be altered by the court that passed it, though one court can take the other orders into account under Rajnesh v. Neha.

2. Collect proof of the change

   Gather the termination or relieving letter, salary slips for six months before and after, Form 16, income tax returns, bank statements for at least twelve months, business accounts or GST returns, and medical records if illness is the reason. Proof of active job applications helps if you have lost a job.

3. Keep paying what you can, and record it

   Pay the ordered amount if you possibly can. If you cannot, pay as much as you can by bank transfer, never in cash, and keep the record. Partial payment does not stop arrears, but it shows good faith and can matter later.

4. File the application in the same court

   Draft an application under Section 146 BNSS, Section 25(2) HMA or Section 25(2) of the DV Act, setting out the original order, what has changed, when it changed and the amount you can now pay. Attach a fresh disclosure affidavit in the Rajnesh v. Neha format with supporting documents.

5. Notice, reply and evidence

   The court issues notice to the other side, who files a reply and usually their own updated affidavit. Depending on the court, the matter may be decided on affidavits and documents, or witnesses may be examined. Expect questions about your spending, your family's finances and your efforts to find work.

6. Mediation, where offered

   Delhi family courts often refer maintenance disputes to mediation. A revised figure agreed there, recorded by the court, is quicker than a contested hearing and less likely to be challenged.

7. Order and any challenge

   The court may reduce the amount, refuse, or change how it is paid. A party unhappy with the order can challenge it in the Delhi High Court, by revision for Section 144 and 146 orders of a family court, or by appeal under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act for orders under the Hindu Marriage Act.

Time and cost at each stage (typical ranges, not promises)

Documents that prove a fall in income

Which court hears the application, and when the Delhi High Court comes in

The application for a reduction goes to the court that made the order. In Delhi, Section 144 BNSS cases between spouses are heard by the Delhi family courts at the district court complexes, such as Saket, Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Rohini, Dwarka and Patiala House, so a Section 146 application goes to the same family court. Orders under the DV Act are passed by Metropolitan Magistrates, and the Section 25 application goes to the same magistrate's court. Permanent alimony under the Hindu Marriage Act is altered by the family court that passed the decree.

The Delhi High Court is the next stage, not the first. A family court's order under Section 144 or 146 BNSS is challenged by revision in the High Court, under Section 19(4) of the Family Courts Act read with the BNSS revision provisions. An order under the Hindu Marriage Act that finally decides the alteration is appealable under Section 19(1) of the Family Courts Act within 30 days; the Delhi High Court has held that the 30-day limit applies, though delay can be condoned for sufficient cause. Interim orders that are not appealable can sometimes be taken up under Article 227. The firm's page on maintenance revision in the Delhi High Court explains that route, and the page on appeals against family court orders covers Section 19 appeals.

For DV Act orders, the route is an appeal to the Sessions Court under Section 29 within 30 days, and only then the High Court. The guide on how to challenge a Domestic Violence Act order explains the steps.

This is a private law firm website, not the Delhi High Court's website. For official case status and cause lists, use the court's own website or the eCourts services for the district courts.

Arrears, warrants and paying while the application is pending

Filing an application for a lower amount does not suspend the existing order. Courts rarely stay payments while a Section 146 application is pending, because the people receiving maintenance usually depend on it for rent, school fees and food. Keep paying the ordered amount if you can.

If you fall behind under a Section 144 order, the other side can apply for recovery under Section 144(3), and the court can issue a warrant to levy the amount and, for continued non-payment, sentence the defaulter to imprisonment of up to one month, or until payment, for each month's default. Recovery of arrears must be applied for within a year from the date they fell due. In divorce cases, non-payment of interim maintenance under Section 24 can lead the family court to strike off the husband's defence, which can decide the whole case against him.

Advocate B.K. Singh's advice to clients who have lost a job is simple: pay what you can by bank transfer every month without fail, and file the application the same month the income drops, not the month the warrant arrives. A steady record of part-payment, combined with a prompt application, is what makes a court willing to reduce the amount and spread out the arrears.

If arrears have already built up, deal with them openly in your application. Offer a realistic instalment plan. Pretending they do not exist only invites the court to deal with them first.

Paying under more than one order

Many husbands in Delhi pay maintenance under two or three orders at once: interim maintenance in the divorce case, a Section 144 order and a monetary order under the DV Act. Rajnesh v. Neha directed courts to take earlier orders into account, so that a later court adjusts or sets off what is already being paid. If that was not done, an application for alteration of maintenance in the later case can ask for the adjustment.

The application should list every order and every payment, and ask each court to consider the others. Courts usually expect the applicant to disclose the other orders; hiding one to get a better figure elsewhere is a serious mistake. The guide on how maintenance is decided under Section 144 BNSS explains how the original amount is worked out and how overlapping claims are handled.

Remember too that interim maintenance in a divorce case ends with the case. If the divorce has been decided and permanent alimony fixed, the interim order no longer runs, and the question becomes whether the permanent order should be altered under Section 25(2).

Mistakes that sink reduction applications

• Cutting payments before applying. The order keeps running. Self-help reductions turn into arrears that the court will usually not wipe out.
• Resigning and then applying. Courts assess an able-bodied person on earning capacity, and a resignation soon after an order looks like a tactic.
• Moving money to relatives. Transfers to parents or siblings show up in bank statements, and courts treat them as concealment.
• Filing without documents. An affidavit saying income has fallen, without salary slips, returns and bank records, rarely persuades anyone.
• Ignoring the other orders. Each maintenance order must be dealt with in the court that passed it. Changing one leaves the others running.
• Assuming a full and final settlement can be reopened. Where a lump sum was paid and accepted in a court-recorded settlement on divorce, courts are generally slow to reopen it at either side's request.

If you receive maintenance and the other side wants to reduce it

Do not panic, and do not ignore the notice. File a reply that tests the claimed fall in income. Ask for bank statements, income tax returns and details of any new job. Point out any spending or assets that do not fit the story: a new vehicle, foreign travel, a flat in a relative's name, or a business run from the same premises under a new name. The court can direct production of documents and, in suitable cases, summon records from employers or banks.

Update your own disclosure affidavit honestly. If you have started earning, say so; the court will find out anyway, and a candid account helps you on the points that matter, such as the children's needs and the standard of living you are entitled to. Courts in Delhi often protect the children's share, especially school fees and medical costs, even where they reduce the overall figure.

You can also apply under the same provisions to increase the amount if the other side's income has risen or the children's needs have grown. The guide on interim maintenance and how fast you can get it covers the first stage of a maintenance claim, if you are still at that point.

What to do this week

If your income has fallen, get certified copies of every maintenance order you pay under and start collecting proof: the termination or salary-revision letter, salary slips, returns and twelve months of bank statements. Keep paying what you can by bank transfer. Draft a short note of what changed and when, because the date of change and the date you applied are what the court will look at first.

If a recovery application or warrant is already pending, do not wait for the next date. File the alteration application now, with an honest instalment offer for the arrears. If the family court has already refused a reduction and you believe it got the law or the facts wrong, check the time limit for a revision or appeal at once (the guide on what happens after you file a family court appeal explains the High Court stage); the firm's page on challenging maintenance orders in the Delhi High Court sets out how those cases run.

For advice on your maintenance papers, or for updates on the law, contact Advocate B.K. Singh.