Maintenance Orders and Enforcement

4.1 Section 9 — Maintenance Order

After consideration of the application and hearing, the Tribunal may:

• Order the children/relatives to pay a monthly allowance for maintenance
• Fix the amount considering: (a) income and means of children/relatives; (b) needs and expenses of the senior citizen; (c) any property of the senior citizen

Maximum: ₹10,000 per month (central limit — states may enhance).

Against multiple children: Tribunal may apportion the maintenance among multiple children in proportion to their financial capacity.

4.2 Section 11 — Enforcement of Order

If the children/relatives default in payment:

• The Tribunal shall issue a warrant for levy of amount due in the manner provided for recovery of fines under the Code of Criminal Procedure
• In default of payment — imprisonment of the defaulting person for up to 1 month per month of default

This makes the maintenance order effectively executable as a fine — quick and coercive.

4.3 Section 12 — Alteration in Maintenance Allowance

The Tribunal may alter the maintenance order:

• On application of either the senior citizen or the children/relatives
• Where there has been a change in circumstances — increase or reduction in income, deterioration in health, death of one child making another solely responsible

4.4 Section 15 — Interim Maintenance

The Tribunal may, during the pendency of proceedings, order interim maintenance — a monthly allowance from the date of application until the final order is passed. This prevents the senior citizen from being without support during the proceedings.

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