New Delhi, June 12 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday declared that homemakers are "nation builders" whose contribution can no longer be undervalued, ruling that the loss of domestic care in motor accident cases must be monetised at a minimum of Rs.30,000 per month while computing compensation. In a significant ruling recognising the economic and social value of unpaid domestic labour, the bench of justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh said that the conventional practice of equating the work performed by homemakers with that of skilled or unskilled labourers fails to capture the true extent of their contribution to families, society and the nation. "The 'homemakers', to put it directly, actually are the 'nation builders' and they ought to be recognised as such," said the court in a judgment that combined legal principles governing compensation with an extensive reflection on the role of women in households and nation-building. Pronouncing the operative part of the judgment, justice Karol said the court had evolved a new principle requiring "loss of domestic care" to be valued at a minimum of Rs.30,000 per month, in addition to all benefits available under the Constitution Bench ruling in National Insurance Co Ltd Vs Pranay Sethi (2017). The court also issued a broader call for reform of motor accident litigation, saying such cases should ordinarily be decided within one year and requesting chief justices of all high courts to monitor pendency and take corrective measures. The ruling arose from a compensation claim stemming from a fatal road accident in Punjab in 2001. While the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal delivered its award within two years, the appeal before the Punjab and Haryana high court remained pending for nearly two decades, prompting the Supreme Court to examine systemic delays in accident compensation litigation. After surveying motor accident cases from across the country, the court painted what it described as an "unhappy picture". "We may record that overall, an unhappy picture emerges. In almost 50% of the matters, pendency was over four years," noted the bench, adding that courts must remain vigilant and grant adjournments only for genuine reasons. The judgment is likely to have a far-reaching impact on compensation jurisprudence because courts across India have traditionally assigned notional incomes to homemakers by drawing comparisons with minimum wages or skilled workers. "It is ironic to describe a homemaker as dependant on earning members, when, in reality the household's functioning depends substantially on the homemaker.The earning members are in fact solely dependent on the homemaker," it held. In one of the most striking portions of the judgment, the bench described homemakers as the architects of India's human capital. "These are the people responsible for laying the foundation stones on which the edifices of high-flying business persons, successful politicians, headlining artists, sought-after lawyers" and countless others are built, it noted. The court added that mothers are often a child's first teachers, shaping not merely educational development but social behaviour, cultural values and interpersonal relationships that sustain communities across generations. By fixing a minimum benchmark, the court has sought both to enhance substantive justice for families of deceased homemakers and to ensure such relief is not lost in years of litigation....