What can do to get maintainance from my husband

Dear Sir,
In India, you have several legal options to secure maintenance from your husband, even if you are an earning individual. Since your husband has a significantly higher income and you are supporting a daughter and an elderly mother, the court can order him to provide maintenance for you and your daughter. The specific laws you can use are the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA), and Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Dear Client,
While I sympathise with your plights and sorry state of affairs, I can provide you the following steps to resolve the crisis legally and effectively. 1) You can file a complaint against your errant and abusive husband who subjected you to domestic violence at the local police station under Sec.12 of the PWDV Act, 2005. Under Section 12(1) of the DV Act, an aggrieved person or a Protection Officer or any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person may present an application directly to the Judicial Magistrate seeking one or more reliefs under this Act that include the right to reside in the shared household, prohibitory order, maintenance order and residence order. 2) You may consider judicial separation or divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty to resolve the matter permanently. Either spouse can obtain a decree of divorce if one spouse has treated the other with cruelty. Section 13 (1) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, allows either spouse to seek divorce on the grounds of cruelty. If there is no possibility and no scope of mutual consent divorce, you can file a one-sided/contested divorce petition before the Family Court/District Court where the couple last lived together, such as their marital home, where the marriage was solemnized, or where the wife currently resides praying for a decree of divorce and seeking maintenance or alimony from the husband. The party seeking divorce can submit audio, video, or written evidence to prove his or her claim. As regards maintenance, be informed that interim maintenance during legal proceedings, can be granted by the Court under Section 23 of the Domestic Violence Act (DV Act), Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), and Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). and any person having sufficient means is liable to support his wife and children, provided that she is unable to maintain herself and her children. Certain guidelines had been set down by the Supreme Court in its judgment in the case of Rajnesh v. Neha (2021(2) SCC 324). Said criteria include the parties’ status, the respondent Wife needs, the respondent’s income and property, the claimant’s liabilities and financial responsibilities, the parties’ age and employment status, the parties’ residential arrangements, the parties' minor children’s maintenance, and illness or disability, etc. Maintenance is not restricted to the husband's income alone. The courts have held that the husband's income, as well as his assets and properties, can be taken into consideration while determining the maintenance amount. The courts have also held that maintenance can be granted to the wife even if she is living separately from her husband due to his ill-treatment or other reasons. If maintenance is paid monthly, the Supreme Court of India has established a benchmark value of 25% of the husband's net monthly earnings to be awarded to the wife. To enforce maintenance orders court can issue various orders, including attachment of the salary or property of the husband. Non-compliance can also lead to imprisonment, as per Section 125(3) of the Cr. PC. A contested divorce is more expensive and time-consuming than a mutual consent divorce. However, grounds for one-sided/contested divorce reflect the various challenges and complexities that may arise in the course of divorce proceedings. It is always recommended to consult an expert divorce lawyer to get the right legal advice before filing a contested divorce petition. If you are not financially sound enough to continue with litigation expenses, you can apply to the Member Secretary, State Legal Services Authority, or the District. Legal Services Authority seeking free legal services available to women under Section 12(c) of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987 to contest the cases in the Court for appropriate relief. Hope it may help.