Practice paper — BNSS Chapter X — Order For Maintenance Of Wives, Children And Parents
20 questions · answer key at the end · no time limit
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1.Who is empowered by Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 to order a person to make a monthly allowance for maintenance under the section?
- (A) Sub-divisional Magistrate
- (B) Magistrate of the first class
- (C) Sessions Judge
- (D) Any Judicial Magistrate
2.Which of the following best describes who is included within the term “wife” for the purposes of this Chapter?
- (A) Only a legally married spouse
- (B) A woman separated by mutual consent
- (C) A woman who has been divorced by, or has obtained a divorce from, her husband and has not remarried
- (D) Any live-in partner
3.Under the proviso to Section 144(1), when may the Magistrate order the father of a female child referred to in clause (b) to make allowance until she attains majority?
- (A) If the Magistrate is satisfied that the husband of such female child, if married, is not possessed of sufficient means
- (B) Only if the father is the child's natural guardian
- (C) Only if the child's mother is deceased
- (D) Only if the female child is married
4.By what time, as far as possible, must an application for interim maintenance and expenses of proceeding under the second proviso to Section 144(1) be disposed of from the date of service of notice of the application?
- (A) Within 30 days from service of notice
- (B) Within 90 days from service of notice
- (C) No fixed timeline specified
- (D) Within 60 days from service of notice
5.A husband offers to maintain his wife on the condition that she lives with him; she refuses to live with him because he has contracted marriage with another woman. Can the Magistrate nevertheless make an order for maintenance under Section 144?
- (A) No — the Magistrate must refuse because the husband offered maintenance on condition of cohabitation
- (B) Yes — the Magistrate may make an order notwithstanding the offer if satisfied there is just ground for her refusal (e.g., husband married another woman)
- (C) Only if the wife is not living in adultery
- (D) Yes — but only if they are living separately by mutual consent
6.Which of the following is NOT a place where proceedings under section 144 may be taken under section 145(1)?
- (A) Where he is.
- (B) Where his employer resides.
- (C) Where his father or mother resides.
- (D) Where he last resided with his wife, or with the mother of the illegitimate child.
7.Under section 145(2), when may evidence in proceedings under section 144 be taken in the absence of the person against whom an order is proposed?
- (A) When his personal attendance is dispensed with and the evidence is taken in the presence of his advocate.
- (B) When the person is abroad regardless of any advocate's presence.
- (C) When the Magistrate considers the evidence unnecessary to be taken in the person's presence.
- (D) Only when the opposite party expressly waives the person's presence.
8.Under section 145(2), the Magistrate may proceed to hear and determine the case ex parte if satisfied that the person is which of the following?
- (A) Unable to pay maintenance.
- (B) Wilfully avoiding service or wilfully neglecting to attend the Court.
- (C) Residing outside the district.
- (D) Not represented by counsel.
9.If an order for payment of maintenance is made ex parte under section 145(2), when and on what terms may that order be set aside?
- (A) On an application made within three months for good cause shown, subject to such terms including payment of costs to the opposite party as the Magistrate may think just and proper.
- (B) On an application made within six months without any conditions as to costs.
- (C) At any time if the absent person proves they were unaware of the proceedings.
- (D) It cannot be set aside once made ex parte.
10.Which statement correctly captures the Magistrate's power and the availability of relief where the Magistrate proceeds ex parte under section 145(2)?
- (A) The Magistrate may not proceed ex parte; the person must always be served and personally attend.
- (B) The Magistrate may proceed ex parte, and any such order is final and cannot be challenged.
- (C) The Magistrate may proceed ex parte if satisfied of wilful avoidance or neglect; any ex parte order may be set aside for good cause on application within three months and subject to such terms, including payment of costs, as the Magistrate may think just.
- (D) The Magistrate may proceed ex parte only if the person has no advocate; ex parte orders can be set aside at any time without imposition of costs.
11.Under Section 146(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, what power does the Magistrate have when there is proof of a change in the circumstances of a person receiving or ordered to pay a monthly allowance under section 144?
- (A) Make such alteration in the allowance for maintenance or interim maintenance as he thinks fit
- (B) Only decrease the allowance but cannot increase it
- (C) Only cancel the allowance order and refer the matter to a Civil Court
- (D) Freeze the allowance pending a review by a higher Magistrate
12.When must the Magistrate cancel or vary an order made under section 144 according to Section 146(2)?
- (A) When the wife remarries
- (B) When it appears that, in consequence of any decision of a competent Civil Court, the order should be cancelled or varied
- (C) When the paying party's income reduces irrespective of any civil decision
- (D) When six months have elapsed since the order was made
13.A woman divorced by her husband had received the entire customary sum payable on divorce before a monthly allowance order under section 144 was made in her favour. According to Section 146(3)(b)(i), from which date should the Magistrate cancel the order?
- (A) From the date of divorce
- (B) From the date on which the customary sum was paid
- (C) From the date on which the order was made
- (D) From the date when maintenance payments would have otherwise expired
14.If a woman divorced by her husband remarries after a section 144 order for monthly allowance was made in her favour, what does Section 146(3)(a) require the Magistrate to do and from which date?
- (A) Suspend the order pending civil adjudication from the remarriage date
- (B) Reduce the allowance proportionately from the date of remarriage
- (C) Continue the order until the end of the financial year of remarriage
- (D) Cancel the order as from the date of her remarriage
15.When a Civil Court makes a decree for recovery of maintenance or dowry in respect of a person who was paid a monthly allowance under section 144, how must the Civil Court treat sums paid or recovered under that section according to Section 146(4)?
- (A) Take into account the sum which has been paid to, or recovered by, such person as monthly allowance for maintenance or interim maintenance
- (B) Ignore any sums paid under section 144 and treat the decree independently
- (C) Count such sums only if they were paid after the Civil Court suit was filed
- (D) Treat such sums as a separate claim to be recovered from the Magistrate
16.According to Section 147, to whom shall a copy of the order of maintenance or interim maintenance and expenses of proceedings be given without payment?
- (A) The person in whose favour it is made, or his guardian, if any, or the person to whom the allowance is to be paid.
- (B) The person against whom the order is made.
- (C) The presiding Magistrate who issued the order.
- (D) Any police officer in the district.
17.Which of the following may be enforced by any Magistrate in any place where the person against whom it is made may be, under Section 147?
- (A) A civil decree from a civil court.
- (B) A bail order.
- (C) The order of maintenance or interim maintenance and expenses of proceedings.
- (D) A criminal conviction order.
18.Must a Magistrate be satisfied as to both the identity of the parties and the non-payment of the allowance before enforcing the order?
- (A) Yes — identity alone suffices.
- (B) No — the Magistrate must be satisfied as to both identity and non-payment.
- (C) Yes — but only if the order is interim maintenance.
- (D) No — enforcement requires a warrant of arrest first.
19.If the allowance for maintenance is to be paid to a third person (neither the beneficiary nor the guardian), may the copy of the order be given to that third person without payment?
- (A) No — only the beneficiary or guardian may receive it.
- (B) Only the beneficiary may receive it.
- (C) Only if the allowance has not yet been paid.
- (D) Yes — it may be given to the person to whom the allowance is to be paid.
20.What does Section 147 indicate about territorial jurisdiction for enforcement of such orders?
- (A) Enforcement is limited to the Magistrate within whose local limits the original order was made.
- (B) Any Magistrate can enforce the order in any place where the person against whom it is made may be found, without requiring the original court's territorial jurisdiction.
- (C) Enforcement can occur only where the person against whom it is made resides permanently.
- (D) Enforcement requires transfer of proceedings to the enforcing Magistrate's court first.
Answer key
Explanations
- 1. (B) Section 144(1) expressly provides that a Magistrate of the first class may, upon proof of neglect or refusal, order such person to make a monthly allowance for maintenance. No other judicial officer is named in the provision.
- 2. (C) The Explanation to Section 144 states that for the purposes of the Chapter, “wife” includes a woman who has been divorced by, or has obtained a divorce from, her husband and has not remarried. The provision does not define “wife” to include live-in partners or persons separated by mutual consent.
- 3. (A) The first proviso to Section 144(1) states that the Magistrate may order the father of a female child referred to in clause (b) to make such allowance until she attains majority if the Magistrate is satisfied that the husband of such female child, if married, is not possessed of sufficient means. Other conditions listed in the distractors are not present in the proviso.
- 4. (D) The second proviso to Section 144(1) directs that an application for interim maintenance and expenses of proceeding shall, as far as possible, be disposed of within sixty days from the date of the service of notice of the application. Thus the provision specifies a 60-day target period.
- 5. (B) Section 144(3) proviso allows the Magistrate to consider grounds of the wife's refusal to live with the husband and ‘‘may make an order notwithstanding such offer, if he is satisfied that there is just ground for so doing.’’ The Explanation to the same sub-section gives as an example that a husband contracting marriage with another woman is to be considered just ground for the wife's refusal.
- 6. (B) Section 145(1) lists the places where proceedings may be taken: where he is; where he or his wife resides; where he last resided with his wife or with the mother of the illegitimate child; and where his father or mother resides. There is no mention of 'where his employer resides.'
- 7. (A) Section 145(2) states all evidence shall be taken in the presence of the person, or when his personal attendance is dispensed with, in the presence of his advocate. The provision does not permit absence without the advocate where attendance is dispensed with.
- 8. (B) The proviso to section 145(2) expressly allows the Magistrate to proceed ex parte if satisfied that the person is wilfully avoiding service, or willfully neglecting to attend the Court. Other listed options are not the statutory grounds for proceeding ex parte.
- 9. (A) The proviso to section 145(2) provides that any ex parte order may be set aside for good cause shown on an application made within three months from the date thereof, and such setting aside is subject to terms, including terms as to payment of costs to the opposite party as the Magistrate may think just.
- 10. (C) The proviso to section 145(2) permits the Magistrate to hear and determine the case ex parte if satisfied of wilful avoidance of service or wilful neglect to attend. It also allows such ex parte orders to be set aside for good cause on an application within three months and subject to terms, including payment of costs, as the Magistrate deems just.
- 11. (A) Section 146(1) expressly states that on proof of a change in circumstances the Magistrate "may make such alteration, as he thinks fit, in the allowance for the maintenance or the interim maintenance." It does not limit the power to decrease only or require referral.
- 12. (B) Section 146(2) requires the Magistrate to cancel or vary the order where it appears that, in consequence of any decision of a competent Civil Court, the order should be cancelled or varied. Other reasons listed are not stated in subsection (2).
- 13. (C) Section 146(3)(b)(i) states that where the sum was paid before the order, the Magistrate shall cancel the order "from the date on which such order was made." The cancellation is therefore from the order date, not from payment or divorce date.
- 14. (D) Section 146(3)(a) mandates that if the woman "has, after the date of such divorce, remarried," the Magistrate shall "cancel such order as from the date of her remarriage." It requires cancellation from that date, not suspension or reduction.
- 15. (A) Section 146(4) clearly directs the Civil Court to "take into account the sum which has been paid to, or recovered by, such person as monthly allowance for the maintenance and interim maintenance" when making any decree for recovery of maintenance or dowry. It does not permit ignoring those sums or treating them as separate from the decree.
- 16. (A) The provision states that a copy shall be given without payment to the person in whose favour it is made, or to his guardian, or to the person to whom the allowance is to be paid. It does not mention the person against whom it is made, the Magistrate, or police.
- 17. (C) The provision expressly says ‘such order may be enforced by any Magistrate...’ referring to the order of maintenance or interim maintenance and expenses of proceedings. It does not refer to civil decrees, bail orders, or convictions.
- 18. (B) Section 147 requires the Magistrate to be satisfied as to the identity of the parties and the non-payment of the allowance (or expenses). Both conditions are stated as prerequisites for enforcement.
- 19. (D) The provision allows the copy to be given without payment to the person to whom the allowance for maintenance or interim maintenance and expenses is to be paid, which covers a third person if they are the payee.
- 20. (B) The provision states that such order may be enforced by any Magistrate in any place where the person against whom it is made may be, indicating enforcement is permissible where that person is found rather than being restricted to the original court's local limits.