#THE MAINTENANCE ORDERS ENFORCEMENT ACT, 1921 
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##ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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SECTIONS 

1. Short title and extent. 
2. Definitions. 
3. Declaration of reciprocal arrangements. 
4. Registration in India of maintenance orders maintenance orders made in the reciprocating territories. 
5. Transmission of maintenance orders made in India. 
6. Power  of  summary  Courts  to  make  provisional  maintenance  order  against  persons  resident  in 
reciprocating territories. 
7. Powers of Court of summary jurisdiction to confirm maintenance order made out of India. 
8. Enforcement of maintenance orders. 
9. Payment of charges for transmission of sums awarded as maintenance and other costs and charges. 
10. Proof of documents signed by officers of Court. 
11. Depositions to be evidence. 
12. Rule-making power. 

 
 
#THE MAINTENANCE ORDERS ENFORCEMENT ACT, 1921 

##ACT NO. 18 OF 1921

[5th October, 1921.] 

An  Act  to  facilitate  the  enforcement in India of Maintenance Orders made in 
reciprocating territories, and vice versa. 

WHEREAS it is expedient to facilitate the enforcement in India of Maintenance Orders made 
in reciprocating territories, and vice versa; It is hereby enacted as follows:— 

1. **Short title and extent.**—(1) This Act may be called the Maintenance Orders Enforcement Act, 1921. 

(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir[^1].

2. **Definitions.**— In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,— 

“Court  of  summary  jurisdiction”  means  the  Court  of a  Chief  Presidency  Magistrate  or  of  a  District 
Magistrate; 

“dependants” means such persons as a person against whom a maintenance order is made is liable to 
maintain according to the law in force in the reciprocating territory in which the maintenance order is 
made; 

“India” means the territory of India excluding the State of Jammu and Kashmir[^1];

“maintenance order” means a decree or order, other than an order of affiliation, made by a Court in 
the  exercise  of  civil  or  criminal  jurisdiction  for  the  periodical  payment  of  sums  of  money  towards  the 
maintenance of the wife or other dependants of the person against whom the order is made; 

“prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 

“proper authority” means the authority appointed by, or under the law of, a reciprocating territory to 
receive and transmit documents to which this Act applies; and 

“reciprocating territory” means any country or territory outside India in respect of which this Act for 
the time being applies by virtue of a declaration under section 3.

[^1].  Vide Notification No. S.O. 3912 (E), dated 30th October, 2019, this Act is made applicable to the Union territory of Jammu and 
Kashmir and the Union territory of Ladakh. 
 
 
 
3. **Declaration of reciprocal arrangements.**—  If  the  Central  Government  is  satisfied  that 
legal  provision  exists  in  any  country  or  territory  outside  India  for  the  enforcement  within  that 
country or territory of maintenance orders made by Courts in India, the Central Government may, 
by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette,  declare  that  this  Act  applies  in  respect  of  that  country  or 
territory and thereupon it shall apply accordingly.

4. **Registration in India of maintenance orders made in the reciprocating territories.**— (1) 
Where a maintenance order has, whether before or after the passing of this Act, been made against 
any person by any Court in any reciprocating territory, and a certified copy of the order has been 
transmitted  by  the  proper  authority  of  that  territory  to  the  Central  Government,  the  Central 
Government  shall  send  a  copy  of  the  order  to  the  prescribed  officer  of  a  Court  in India for 
registration, and, on receipt thereof, the order shall be registered in the prescribed manner. 

(2) The Court in which an order is to be so registered as aforesaid shall, if the Court by which 
the order was made was, in the opinion of the Central Government, a Court of superior jurisdiction, 
be  a  High  Court,  and,  if  the  Court  was  not,  in  its  opinion,  a  Court  of  superior  jurisdiction,  be  a 
Court of summary jurisdiction. 

5. **Transmission of maintenance orders made in India.**—Where  a  Court  in India has, 
whether  before  or  after  the  commencement  of  this  Act,  made  a  maintenance  order  against  any 
person, and it is proved to that Court that the person against whom the order was made is resident 
in a reciprocating territory, the Court shall send to the Central Government, for transmission to the 
proper authority of that territory, a certified copy of the order. 

6. **Power  of  summary  Courts  to  make  provisional  maintenance  orders  against  persons 
resident  in  reciprocating  territories.**—  (1)  Where  application  is  made  to  a  Court  of  summary 
jurisdiction in India for a maintenance order against any person, and it is proved that that person 
is resident in a reciprocating territory, the Court may, in the absence of that person, if after hearing 
the evidence it is satisfied of the justice of the application, make any such order as it might have 
made if that person had wilfully neglected to attend the Court; but in such case the order shall be 
provisional only and shall have no effect unless and until confirmed by a competent Court in such 
territory. 

(2) The evidence of every witness who is examined on any such application shall be reduced to 
writing, and such deposition shall be read over to, and signed by, him. 

(3) Where  such  an  order  is  made,  the  Court  shall  send  to  the  Central  Government,  for 
transmission to the proper authority of the reciprocating territory in which the person against whom 
the  order  is  made  is  alleged  to  reside,  the  depositions  so  taken  and  a  certified  copy  of  the  order 
together  with  a  statement  of  the  grounds  on  which  the  making  of  the  order  might  have  been 
opposed if the person against whom the order is made had been duly served with a summons and 
had  appeared  at  the  hearing  and  such  information  as  the  Court  possesses  for  facilitating  the 
identification of that person and ascertaining his whereabouts. 

(4) Where any such provisional order has come before a Court in a reciprocating territory for 
confirmation, and the order has by that Court been remitted to the Court of summary jurisdiction 
which made the order for the purpose of taking further evidence, that Court shall, after giving the 
prescribed notice, proceed to take the evidence in like manner and subject to the like conditions as 
the evidence in support of the original application. 

(5) If it appears to the Court hearing such evidence that the order ought not to have been made, 
the Court may rescind the order, but in any other case the depositions shall be sent to the Central 
Government and dealt with in like manner as the original depositions. 
 
(6) The confirmation of an order made under this section shall not affect any power of a Court 
of summary jurisdiction to vary or rescind that order: 

Provided that, on the making of a varying or rescinding order, the Court  shall send a certified 
copy thereof to the Central Government for transmission to the proper authority of the reciprocating 
territory  in  which the  original  order  was  confirmed,  or  to  which it  was  sent  for  confirmation  and 
that, in the case of an order varying the original order, the order shall not have any effect unless and 
until confirmed in like manner as the original order. 

7. **Power  of  Court  of  summary  jurisdiction  to  confirm  maintenance  order  made  out  of 
India.**— (1) Where a maintenance order has been made by a Court in a reciprocating territory and 
the order is provisional only, and has no effect unless and until confirmed by a Court of summary 
jurisdiction  in India, and  a  certified  copy  of  the  order,  together  with  the  depositions  of  the 
witnesses and a statement of the grounds on which the order might have been opposed, has been 
transmitted  to the  Central Government,  and  it appears  to  the  Central  Government  that the  person 
against whom the order has been made is resident in India, the Central Government may send the 
said documents to the prescribed officer of a Court of summary jurisdiction, with a requisition that 
a  summons  be  issued  calling  upon  the  person  to  show  cause  why  that  order  should  not  be 
confirmed,  and,  upon  receipt  of  such  documents  and  requisition,  the  Court  shall  issue  such  a 
summons and cause it to be served upon such person. 

(2) A summons issued under sub-section (1) shall for all purposes be deemed to be a summons 
issued by the Court in the exercise of its original criminal jurisdiction. 

(3) At the hearing it shall be open to the person to whom the summons was issued to raise any 
defence which he might have raised in the original proceedings had he been a party thereto, but no 
other  defence,  and  the  certificate  from  the  Court  which  made  the  provisional  order  stating  the 
grounds on which the making of the order might have been opposed if the person against whom the 
order was made had been a party to the proceedings shall be conclusive evidence that those grounds 
are grounds on which objection may be taken. 

(4) If at the hearing the person served with the summons does not appear or, on appearing, fails 
to satisfy the Court that the order ought not to be confirmed, the Court may, notwithstanding any 
pecuniary limit imposed on its power by any law for the time being in force in 1[India], confirm the 
order  either  without  modification  or  with  such  modifications  as  to  the  Court  after  hearing  the 
evidence may seem just: 

Provided  that  no  sum  shall  be  awarded  as  maintenance  under  this  section,  or  shall  be 
recoverable as such, at a rate exceeding that proposed in the provisional order. 

(5) If  the  person  to  whom  the  summons  was  issued  appears  at  the  hearing  and  satisfies  the 
Court that for the purpose of any defence it is necessary to remit the case to the Court which made 
the provisional order for the taking of any further evidence, the Court may for that purpose send a 
certified copy of the record to the Central Government for transmission to that Court through the 
proper authority of the reciprocating territory, and may adjourn the proceedings. 

(6) Where  a  provisional  order  has  been  confirmed  under  this  section,  it  may  be  varied  for 
rescinded in like manner as if it had originally been made by the confirming Court, and where on an 
application for rescission or variation the Court is satisfied that it is necessary to remit the case to 
the  Court  which  made  the  provisional  order  for  the  purpose  of  taking  any  further  evidence,  the 
Court  may  for  that  purpose  send  a  certified  copy  of  the  record  to  the  Central  Government  for 
transmission  to  that  Court  through  the  proper  authority  of  the  reciprocating  territory,  and  may 
adjourn the proceedings. 

8. **Enforcement of maintenance orders.**— (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, where an 
order  has  been  registered  under  this  Act  in  a  High  Court,  the  order  shall,  from  the  date  of  such 
registration, be of the same force and effect, and all proceedings may be taken thereon as if it had 
been  an  order  originally  obtained  in  the  High  Court  in  the  exercise  of  its  civil  jurisdiction,  or  in 
such Civil Court subordinate to that High Court as may be named by the High Court in this behalf, 
and that Court shall have power to enforce the order accordingly. 

(2) A Court of summary jurisdiction in which an order has been registered under this Act or by 
which an order has been confirmed under this Act, and the officers of such Court, shall have such 
powers and perform such duties, for the purpose of enforcing the order, as may be prescribed. 

9. **Payment of charges for transmission of sums awarded as maintenance and other costs 
and charges.**—A Court in registering or confirming an order for maintenance in accordance with 
the provisions of this Act shall direct that the charges for the transmission to the Court, from which 
the order has been received or in which the provisional order has been made, as the case may be, of 
the sum awarded as maintenance shall be borne by the person against whom the order has been so 
made or confirmed, and shall be recovered from him in addition to the sum awarded as maintenance 
and in addition to, and in the same manner as, such other costs and charges as may be awarded or 
levied by the Court. 

10. **Proof of documents signed by officers of Court.**—For  the  purposes  of  this  Act,  any 
document purporting to be signed by a judge or officer of a Court outside India shall, until the 
contrary is proved, be deemed to have been so signed without proof of the signature of judicial or 
official character of the person appearing to have signed it, and the officer of a Court by whom a 
document is signed shall, until the contrary is provided, be deemed to have been the proper officer 
of the Court to sign the document. 

11. **Depositions to be evidence.**— Depositions taken in a Court in any reciprocating territory 
may, for the purposes of this Act, be received in evidence in proceedings before Courts of summary 
jurisdiction under this Act. 

12. **Rule making power.**—(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official 
Gazette, make rules 4 for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect  the  purposes  of  this  Act,  and  in 
particular may make rules for the levy of the costs or charges for anything done under this Act and 
for all matters which are directed or permitted to be prescribed. 

(2) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may 
be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty 
days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before 
the  expiry  of  the  session  immediately  following  the  session  or  the  successive  sessions  aforesaid, 
both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should 
not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as 
the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to 
the validity of anything previously done under that rule.