Section 145 BNSS: Procedure for Maintenance Proceedings
Section 145 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 lays down the procedural rules for proceedings under Section 144 BNSS, including territorial jurisdiction, recording of evidence, ex parte proceedings, and costs.
- It determines where proceedings under Section 144 may be instituted.
- Evidence ordinarily has to be recorded in the presence of the person against whom maintenance is claimed, or in the presence of that person's advocate when personal attendance is dispensed with.
- The Magistrate may proceed ex parte where service is wilfully avoided or Court attendance is wilfully neglected.
- An ex parte order may be set aside for good cause on an application made within three months from the date of the order.
- The Court may make an appropriate order regarding costs.
What is Section 145 of the BNSS?
Section 145 is the procedural provision connected with maintenance proceedings under Section 144 BNSS. Section 144 creates the substantive remedy by which a Magistrate of the first class may order maintenance for a wife, qualifying children, or parents when the statutory requirements are satisfied. Section 145 explains where such proceedings may be brought and how the evidence and hearing are to be conducted.
The provision is therefore important both for deciding territorial jurisdiction and for ensuring that the person against whom a maintenance order is sought receives an opportunity to participate in the proceeding, subject to the Court's power to proceed ex parte in cases of deliberate avoidance.
Territorial jurisdiction under Section 145(1)
Proceedings under Section 144 may be taken in any district falling within one of the statutory connecting factors specified in Section 145(1). These include the district where the person proceeded against is present, where that person or the wife resides, where the spouses last resided together, or, where relevant, where the person last resided with the mother of an illegitimate child. Proceedings may also be instituted where the father or mother resides.
This gives maintenance claimants more than one statutory basis for choosing the competent district, depending on the facts of the case.
Evidence and appearance under Section 145(2)
Section 145(2) requires the evidence to be taken in the presence of the person against whom the maintenance order is proposed. If personal attendance has been dispensed with, evidence may be taken in the presence of that person's advocate. The evidence is to be recorded in the manner prescribed for summons-cases.
The proviso deals with deliberate avoidance. If the Magistrate is satisfied that the person is wilfully avoiding service or wilfully neglecting to attend Court, the matter may be heard and determined ex parte.
Setting aside an ex parte order
An ex parte order under Section 145(2) is not necessarily final merely because it was passed in the absence of the respondent. The statutory proviso permits such an order to be set aside for good cause shown, provided the application is made within three months from the date of the ex parte order. The Magistrate may impose appropriate terms, including costs payable to the opposite party.
Costs under Section 145(3)
Section 145(3) expressly authorises the Court dealing with an application under Section 144 to make such order regarding costs as may be just. This enables the Court to address litigation expenses and procedural conduct according to the circumstances of the case.
Text of Section 145 BNSS
145. Procedure.
(1) Proceedings under section 144 may be taken against any person in any district-
(a) where he is; or
(b) where he or his wife resides; or
(c) where he last resided with his wife, or as the case may be, with the mother of the illegitimate child; or
(d) where his father or mother resides.
(2) All evidence in such proceedings shall be taken in the presence of the person against whom an order for payment of maintenance is proposed to be made, or, when his personal attendance is dispensed with, in the presence of his advocate, and shall be recorded in the manner prescribed for summons-cases:
Provided that if the Magistrate is satisfied that the person against whom an order for payment of maintenance is proposed to be made is wilfully avoiding service, or wilfully neglecting to attend the Court, the Magistrate may proceed to hear and determine the case ex parte and any order so made may be set aside for good cause shown on an application made within three months from the date thereof subject to such terms including terms as to payment of costs to the opposite party as the Magistrate may think just and proper.
(3) The Court in dealing with applications under section 144 shall have power to make such order as to costs as may be just.
Related BNSS provisions
Legal note: This page provides the statutory text and a general explanation of Section 145 BNSS. Application of the provision depends on the facts, procedural history, and orders in each case.