'Marriage Does Not Mean Hiring A Maid': SC Calls Homemakers 'Nation Builders', Says Value Of Work Is Minimum Rs 30,000/Month

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday stated that homemakers build nations, adding that the loss of domestic-care services must be treated as a distinct head of compensation in motor accident claims. The apex court ruled that while calculating the compensation for the loss of a homemaker' death in road accident, the minimum value should be fixed at Rs 30,000 per month.

The court also stated that marriage does not mean hiring a maid.

Emphasising on the economic value of unpaid work done by homemakers, a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N. Kotiswar Singh expressed hope that the word ‘homemaker’ would now acquire the acronym ‘nation builder’. It noted that homemakers contribute to the growth of the human being and the nation.

The Bench also noted that it is ironic to describe a homemaker as dependent on earning members, when, in reality the household's functioning depends substantially on the homemaker. 

In its ruling, the court said, "We have laid down the principles, and as a nation builder, we have a housewife, we have quantified the amount that the loss of domestic care, a minimum monthly income in any event, would be Rs 30,000 per month,"

It also suggested that the emotional and psychological contributions made by homemakers cannot be truly monetised. The court stated that compensation calculations should not undervalue the contribution made by homemakers and should not rely on outdated notional income figures.

The apex court's ruling came while hearing a man's appeal over a motor accident claim in Punjab after his wife Reshma died in a road mishap in 2001.

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