Value of a homemaker’s work is no less than the office work of a salaried woman - Supreme Court

New Delhi – The Supreme Court has stated that the value of a woman’s housework is not less than that of a woman who earns a salary by working in an office. A bench of Justice Suryakant and Justice K.V. Vishwanathan said that a woman who takes care of the family is of great importance and her contribution is difficult to measure in financial terms. There is no doubt that the work of a housewife is high quality and invaluable.

Here is what the Court stated in this case:

1. In 2006, a woman in Uttarakhand died in a road accident.

2. The car in which the woman was traveling was not insured. Therefore, the liability to pay compensation to her family fell on the owner of the vehicle. As a result, the woman’s family (her husband and minor son) was awarded compensation of Rs 2.5 lakhs.

3. The family filed a petition in the Uttarakhand High Court seeking higher compensation, but their petition was dismissed in 2017. The High Court had said that ‘since the woman was a housewife, the compensation should be decided on the basis of her life expectancy and minimum notional income’. The High Court considered the woman’s estimated income to be less than that of a daily wage worker.

4. However, the Supreme Court expressed its displeasure with this method of the High Court and said that this was unacceptable.

5. Finally, the bench ordered the family to be paid compensation of Rs 6 lakhs within 6 weeks.