New Delhi, June 30 -- On 11 June, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgement on a road accident appeal case that caused the death of a homemaker over two decades ago. The verdict placed a value of Rs.30,000 per month on the unpaid domestic services provided by the homemaker, and created a separate head of compensation titled 'loss of domestic care' to cover the range of services provided by homemakers, including household management, maternal support for children, spousal and parental support.

Further, it directed that this notional minimum value would also apply to women with independent external incomes. The judgment referred to homemakers as nation builders, whose labour and management allow other members of the family unit to c...