A significant part of this practice consists of matters brought by women, and a good deal of it begins with the same sentence: she does not know what she is entitled to. This page sets out the main routes, because the single most useful thing at a first consultation is usually not a filing but an accurate picture of the options.
For women: rights, maintenance, custody and stridhan explained, with a woman advocate in Malad. See Divorce for women in Mumbai.
The four things most often needed
Stated plainly, most women who come to chambers need one or more of four things: safety, a place to live, money to live on, and their children. The law provides routes to each, and they are not the same route.
| Need | Principal route |
|---|---|
| Stopping the violence or harassment | Protection order under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005; police complaint where an offence is disclosed |
| Not being put out of the house | Residence order under the DV Act — the right to reside in the shared household does not depend on owning it |
| Money | Monetary relief under the DV Act; maintenance under Section 144 of the BNSS, 2023 (which replaced Section 125 CrPC); maintenance under the applicable personal law |
| Children | Custody orders, interim custody and access, decided on the welfare of the child |
Criminal provisions, in their current numbering
For matters arising on or after 1 July 2024 the Indian Penal Code has been replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The provisions that arise most often here:
- Section 85 BNS — cruelty by a husband or his relatives, replacing Section 498A IPC. Section 86 defines cruelty for that purpose.
- Offences under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, which continues as before.
- Offences concerning dowry death, and offences against women generally, now found in the corresponding provisions of the BNS.
Matters already pending when the new codes commenced continue under the old ones, so both remain in use. A great deal of material online, including template complaints, still cites Section 498A.
Stridhan
What a woman received before, at and after her marriage — jewellery, gifts, household articles, money — is her property. It does not become the husband’s or his family’s by being kept in their house. Its return can be sought, and that claim is separate from any question of maintenance or divorce. Women frequently assume it is gone. It is worth listing what was given, by whom, and when, even years later.
Talaq and the position of Muslim women
Instant triple talaq has been held void and is an offence under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019. A pronouncement of it does not dissolve the marriage, and the woman’s rights to residence and maintenance continue. A Muslim woman seeking dissolution may proceed by khula or by suit under the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939. See divorce.
Workplace matters
Sexual harassment at the workplace is dealt with under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, which requires an Internal Committee in workplaces above a specified size and provides a Local Committee where there is none. Complaints are subject to time limits, which the Committee has power to extend for recorded reasons.
Choosing between the routes
The question is not which is strongest in the abstract but which gets this woman what she needs, in what order, at acceptable cost.
A criminal complaint escalates. It usually draws in the husband’s whole family, ends any realistic prospect of a negotiated settlement, and takes years. For some situations that is exactly the right response, and nobody should be talked out of it. For others — where what is needed is a roof this month and money next month — DV Act and maintenance proceedings deliver those faster and with less collateral damage.
Where there are children, that calculation changes again, because whatever is done becomes part of their lives too. These are not decisions to take in a hurry or on somebody else’s advice about what happened in their cousin’s case.
What a first consultation involves
Mostly listening, and then setting out what can be done and how long each route takes. Nothing is filed at a first meeting.
Bring what you have — marriage documents, identity proof, anything showing where you have been living, medical papers if there are any, any complaint already made, and whatever is known of the other side’s income. If you have none of it, come anyway. A good deal can be obtained or reconstructed later.
Where it is difficult to travel, or difficult to speak freely from home, a telephone call can be arranged instead.
Common questions
What can a woman claim maintenance under?
Maintenance may be claimed under Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — which replaced Section 125 CrPC — under the personal law applicable to the marriage, and as monetary relief under the Domestic Violence Act. These routes overlap and amounts awarded in one are taken into account in another, so they should be planned together.
Can I be evicted from my husband’s house?
A residence order under the Domestic Violence Act can restrain your dispossession from the shared household or require alternative accommodation. The right to reside in the shared household does not depend on owning it or on whose name is on the papers.
What replaced Section 498A?
For matters arising on or after 1 July 2024, cruelty by a husband or his relatives is Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, with cruelty defined in Section 86. Matters already pending when the new code commenced continue under Section 498A IPC.
Is my jewellery and what my family gave me still mine?
Yes. Stridhan — what a woman received before, at and after marriage — remains her property and does not become her husband’s or his family’s by being kept in their house. Its return can be sought separately from any claim to maintenance or any divorce proceedings.
My husband pronounced triple talaq. Am I divorced?
No. Talaq-e-biddat has been held void and is an offence under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019. The marriage is not dissolved by it, and your rights to residence and maintenance continue.
Should I go to the police or to court first?
It depends on what you need most urgently. Where there is an immediate risk of harm, the police can be approached at once. Where the pressing need is housing and money, an application under the Domestic Violence Act with interim relief may achieve more, faster. The two are not mutually exclusive, and the order matters.
Is the first consultation free?
Yes. Nothing is filed at a first meeting — it is for understanding the situation and setting out what the options actually are.
See also: A wife’s rights in divorce in Mumbai.
See also: Khula and divorce for Muslim women.
Discussing a matter
Consultations are at chambers at 704 Classic Building, Gate No. 8, Malwani MHADA, Malad (West), Mumbai 400095, by appointment. Telephone or send a message on WhatsApp to +91 99301 50560, or use the contact page.
This page describes procedure in general terms. It is not legal advice, and what applies in a particular matter depends on its own facts and on the law as it stands at the time.
Related guides
- Widowed Daughter-in-Law: Maintenance, Home and Property Rights
- Husband Having an Affair? A Wife’s Legal Options
- Husband Married Again Without Divorce: Bigamy and the First Wife’s Rights
- Boyfriend Cheated After Promising Marriage: Section 69 BNS
- Ex Threatening to Leak Private Photos or Videos
- Getting Back Your Stridhan and Jewellery
- How to File a Domestic Violence Case in Mumbai
- Right to Residence in the Shared Household
- Dowry Harassment and Cruelty: Sections 85 and 86 BNS
- Child Custody in Mumbai: How the Family Court Decides
- Maintenance Under Section 144 BNSS: Who May Claim and How
- Mutual Consent Divorce: The Basic Process
This page describes general procedure and is published for information only, in keeping with Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules. It is not legal advice and does not solicit work. What applies to a particular matter depends on its own facts.