New Delhi: Observing that homemakers should be recognised as “nation builders”, the Supreme Court Thursday held that loss of wife’s domestic care should be monetised at a minimum of Rs 30,000 per month. A bench of Justices Sanjoy Karol and NK Singh passed the order while giving additional compensation to a man for the loss of his wife in a motor vehicle accident case. “We are also of the view that the housewife contributes to the growth of the human being and the nation. The homemaker builds nation.
So we have laid down the principles, and as a nation builder, we have housewife, we have quantified the amount that the loss of domestic care, the minimum monthly income in any event would be 30,000 per month,” the bench said. The top court said it is ironic to describe a homemaker as dependent on earning members when, in reality, the household’s functioning depends substantially on the homemaker. “It is our hope that the word housewife/homemaker, is in future, in recognition of the contributions of the lady of the house is now used as ‘Nation Builder’… “The earning members are in fact solely dependent on the homemaker, but alas, this reality does not receive the acknowledgement it deserves.
Efforts have been made across fields to some success, but yet undeniably, the road is still long,” the bench said. Quoting economist Sir Arthur Cecil Pigou, the top court said, “The services rendered by women enter into the dividend when they are rendered in exchange for wages, whether in the factory or in the home, but do not enter into it when they are rendered by mothers and wives gratuitously to their own families.
Thus, if a man marries his housekeeper or his cook, the national dividend is diminished.” The apex court said women’s unpaid caregiving work is estimated to contribute 15-17 per cent of India’s GDP, yet it remains unpaid and unrecognised. “Apart from the fact that contribution of women to society extends far beyond biological reproduction, they are also largely responsible for the preparation of human capital on which the dreams of being the world’s largest economy, among other things, rest,” the bench said. Voicing concern over the delay in cases of motor accident compensation claims, the top court said such matters should be decided within one year. The top court’s judgement came on an appeal relating to a motor accident claim in Punjab, where a woman died in a road accident November 25, 2001.
The husband and three children of the deceased approached the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) seeking compensation, which granted them Rs 2.42 lakh. Being aggrieved, the claimants approached the High Court seeking enhancement of the amount. The High Court enhanced the compensation to Rs 8.43 lakh along with 7.5 per cent interest. Still dissatisfied, the claimants approached the top court.