SC Says Homemaker's Value Not Less Than Salaried Worker: Does Society Agree?

In a remarkable statement, the Supreme Court of India said that the value of a homemaker is no less than the one who brings home a salary from the office. The court termed the effort put in by homemakers as "invaluable" that cannot be measured only in monetary terms. It laid out this judgment on February 16 while dealing with the cases of a family seeking compensation in a motor accident. Read on to learn more about this ruling. 

According to a bench of justices, Suryan Kant and KV Viswanathan said that the work a homemaker does is of "high order" that is hard to quantify in monetary terms. “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. It is difficult to compute her contributions only in monetary terms." 

However, the bench said that in cases of motor accident claims, the tribunals and courts must count the notational income of the homemakers by considering their work, labour and sacrifices.

What happened during the accident?

As per the reports, in 2006, a woman met a road accident in Uttrakhand and lost her life. Since the vehicle she was travelling in was not insured, the owner of the vehicle was liable to pay compensation to the woman's family- her husband and a minor son. 

Consequently, a motor accident claim tribunal awarded the woman's family a damage compensation of Rs 2.5 lakhs. However, the woman's family was not satisfied with it and so it approached the Uttrakhand High Cout. But the court dismissed the family's plea in 2017. 

The high court said that the compensation awarded to the woman should be based on her life expectancy and the minimum notation income. But since she was a homemaker, her notational income cannot be more than a daily wage earner. Stating this, the high court refused to interfere with the tribunal's order. 

Cannot underestimate the value of a homemaker: SC

But on February 16, 2024, the Supreme Court reconsidered the family's plea and awarded a damage compensation of Rs 6 lakhs. The court pulled up the high court for following an outdated approach. It said, "How can a homemaker’s income be treated as less than that of a daily wager? We don’t accept such an approach." The court also criticised the high court for a hasty judgement that had factual errors. The high court had got the deceased woman's age wrong, the type of vehicle wrong and called her minor son an adult person.

Highlighting the time and effort that a homemaker puts into their work, the bench further added, "One should never underestimate the value of a homemaker,” and directed that the damage compensation amount should be paid to the family within six weeks. 

This move acts as a great push to the conversations about valuing homemakers and monetising their labour. According to the 2011 Census, 159.85 million women have housework as their main occupation as compared to only 5.79 million men. If housework is a necessary labour for human existence; If housework engages so many women across the country, why is the a delay in accepting its importance and paying for it?