Supreme Court: Homemaker's Work Equal To Salary-Earning Spouse

It was held by the Supreme Court that the value of work done by a woman at home is no less significant than that of someone earning a salary from an office, on Friday. The contribution of a "homemaker" was termed invaluable by a bench of justices Suryan Kant and KV Viswanathan.

It was stated by the top court that the worth of a woman managing the household is of a "high order," and her contributions are difficult to quantify in monetary terms. Additionally, the top court added that tribunals and courts should calculate the notional income of "homemakers" based on their work, labour, and sacrifices in cases of motor accident claims, reported Hindustan Times.

What did SC note on Homemakers?

On Friday, the bench, in its order, stated that the role of a homemaker is as important as that of a family member whose income is tangible, and 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. It was noted that her contributions are difficult to compute only in monetary terms.

A motor accident case arising out of the unfortunate death of a woman from Uttarakhand in a road accident in 2006 was being heard by the court. As the vehicle in which she was travelling was not insured, the liability fell on the vehicle owner to pay her family the compensation. Damages of ₹2.5 lakh were awarded to her family-her husband and minor son-by a motor accident claims tribunal. The family's plea for higher compensation was dismissed by the Uttarakhand High Court in 2017, reported Hindustan Times.

In its order, it was noted by the high court that she was a "homemaker," and therefore, the compensation had to be fixed based on her life expectancy and a bare minimum notional income. No infirmities in the tribunal's order treating the woman's notional income as less than that of a daily labourer were found by the high court.

However, on Friday, this stance was disapproved of by the Supreme Court while hearing the appeal against the high court order. The high court was berated for adopting an outdated approach. "How can a homemaker's income be treated as less than that of a daily wager? Such an approach is not accepted," stated the bench, reported Hindustan Times.

The amount of time and effort dedicated to household work by individuals was highlighted by the bench. Furthermore, the high court was criticized by the top court for a spree of factual errors in its judgment - the type of vehicle was wrong; the age of the deceased woman was incorrect, and her minor son was called an adult person.

The bench then enhanced the compensation to ₹6 lakh, and it was directed to be paid to the family of the deceased woman within six weeks. "The value of a homemaker should never be underestimated," it was further remarked.

The jurisprudential leap that seeks to acknowledge the value of women engaged in household work without a salary and, when appropriate, monetize them, is being taken forward by the Supreme Court order on Friday, reported Hindustan Times. According to the 2011 Census, nearly 159.85 million women stated that "household work" was their main occupation, as compared to only 5.79 million men.