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.