What people still call "Section 125 maintenance" is now governed by Section 144 of the BNSS — the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which replaced the CrPC with effect from 1 July 2024. The substance of this remedy is unchanged: it remains one of the fastest, most accessible, and most effective financial protections in Indian family law, and every eligible person in Vadodara should understand it.

Section 144 BNSS is a summary remedy before the Judicial Magistrate — not the Family Court, which is an important distinction. It is available to a wife (including a divorced wife who has not remarried), minor children, adult children with physical or mental disabilities, and parents who cannot maintain themselves. The defining advantage over the Family Court's Section 24 Hindu Marriage Act remedy is speed: you do not need to wait for the divorce petition to be filed, for cognizance to be taken, or for any other precondition. The moment your husband neglects or refuses to maintain you despite having sufficient means, you can approach the Vadodara Magistrate for maintenance. Interim maintenance can be ordered within weeks of filing the application, under the Supreme Court's framework in Rajnesh v. Neha, which requires both parties to file affidavits of assets and income at the outset so the court can fix a realistic interim amount without protracted argument about finances.

Section 144 BNSS maintenance is independent of and additional to maintenance under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act before the Vadodara Family Court, and to monetary relief under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. Using all three strategically — each at the forum that moves fastest in your specific case — is what provides comprehensive financial security during the divorce proceedings. In Vadodara, where Family Court cases can carry significant pendency, the Magistrate-level Section 144 BNSS remedy frequently delivers the fastest interim financial protection. If a Section 144 BNSS order is not complied with, the Magistrate can issue a warrant and attach the husband's property — giving the order real enforcement teeth. The family law advocates at the Vadodara panel of Aapka Legal Advice can structure these parallel filings so they reinforce each other without overlapping wastefully.