Homemaker's work no less that salary-earning spouse's, says top court

The value of a woman's work at home is no less than that of someone who brings a salary from office, the Supreme Court held on Friday, terming the contribution of a "homemaker" invaluable.

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According to a bench of justices Suryan Kant and KV Viswanathan, the worth of a woman looking after the household is of a "high order" and her contributions are hard to quantify in monetary terms. At the same time, the top court added, tribunals and courts ought to calculate the notional income of "homemakers" based on their work, labour and sacrifices in cases of motor accident claims.

"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. In fact, it is difficult to compute her contributions only in monetary terms," stated the bench in its order on Friday.