Homemaker's role as important as that of salaried family member: SC

While calling the work of a homemaker invaluable, the Supreme Court said that the worth of a woman looking after the household is of a high order

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The value of a woman's work at home is no less than that of someone who brings a salary from office, the Supreme Court said on Friday, calling the contribution of a "homemaker" invaluable.

According to a bench of Justices Suryan Kant and K V Viswanathan, the worth of a woman looking after the household is of a "high order" and her contributions are hard to quantify in monetary terms. At the same time, the apex court added, tribunals and courts ought to calculate the notional income of "homemakers" based on their work, labour and sacrifices in cases of motor accident claims.

"The role of a homemaker is as important as that of a family member whose income is tangible. If the activities performed by a homemaker are computed one by one, there cannot be any doubt that the contribution is of a high order and is invaluable. In fact, it is difficult to compute her contributions only in monetary terms," stated the bench in its order.

The court was hearing a motor accident case stemming from the untimely death of an Uttarakhand woman in a road accident in 2006. Because the vehicle in which she was travelling was uninsured, the owner of the vehicle was responsible for compensating her family. A motor accident claims tribunal granted damages of Rs 2,50,000 to her family, including her husband and minor son. The family filed an appeal for higher compensation in the Uttarakhand High Court, but it was dismissed in 2017.

In its ruling, the high court stated that she was a "homemaker," hence the compensation had to be based on her life expectancy and a minimal minimum notional income. The high court found no infirmities in the tribunal's order, which treated the woman's notional income as less than that of a daily labourer.

However, on Friday, the Supreme Court disapproved of this stance while hearing the appeal against the high court order. It chastised the high court for taking an antiquated approach. "How can a homemaker's income be treated as less than that of a daily wager? We don't accept such an approach," the bench said.

The bench further highlighted the amount of time and effort that is dedicated to household work by individuals. The top court further criticised the high court for a number of factual errors in its judgment, including incorrectly determining the type of vehicle, the age of the deceased woman and even calling her minor son an adult person.

The bench then proceeded to increase the compensation to Rs 600,000, directing it to be paid to the family of the deceased woman within six weeks. "One should never underestimate the value of a homemaker," it further remarked.