The Supreme Court’s landmark recognition of homemakers as “nation builders” has drawn attention to an interesting legal backdrop: the judgment relies on a judicial handbook that was recently flagged for review after being described by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant as “too Harvard-oriented.”
In a significant ruling delivered on June 11, a Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice N.K. Singh underscored the immense economic and social value of unpaid domestic labour. The Court ruled that when a homemaker dies in a motor accident, compensation must include a separate component for the loss of domestic care, fixing its value at a minimum of ₹30,000 per month.
While strengthening the legal recognition of unpaid household work, the judgment also drew extensively from the Supreme Court’s 2023 handbook on combating gender stereotypes in judicial proceedings.
The handbook, prepared during the tenure of former Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, encouraged courts to replace the term “housewife” with “homemaker.” Its reasoning was straightforward: the older term often carried the assumption that women who do not engage in paid employment contribute little to the household economy. By contrast, “homemaker” reflects the reality of unpaid labour that sustains families through cooking, cleaning, caregiving, financial management and emotional support.
The handbook had argued that such work not only improves the quality of life within households but also generates substantial economic savings. It stressed that women engaged in domestic work contribute as much as, and often more than, other members of the family.
Justice Karol’s opinion incorporated these observations while examining the broader value of domestic and caregiving responsibilities.
The reliance on the handbook is notable because the Supreme Court recently directed that it be revisited. During proceedings concerning controversial observations made by the Allahabad High Court in a sexual violence matter, a Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant expressed reservations about the handbook’s language and approach.
At that time, the Court instructed the National Judicial Academy to prepare a fresh set of guidelines that would be rooted more firmly in Indian realities. The Bench emphasised that judicial standards should emerge from the country’s own social conditions rather than borrow heavily from foreign academic frameworks. It called for clear and accessible language that reflects the experiences, values and cultural context of people engaged with India’s justice system.
Yet, despite that ongoing review process, the handbook’s principles found renewed relevance in the homemaker compensation case.
The judgment paints a detailed picture of the role homemakers play within families and society. Rejecting the common practice of treating homemakers as dependants, the Court observed that households often function because of their labour, not despite it.
“It is ironic to describe a homemaker as dependant on earning members,” the Bench remarked, noting that family life is sustained by the continuous and often invisible work performed within the home.
The Court described homemakers as the first educators of children and the stabilising force behind family structures. Their contribution, it said, goes far beyond biological parenting and extends to building the human capital that supports the nation’s future growth.
According to the judgment, the everyday efforts of homemakers enable other family members to pursue education, careers and livelihoods. Their unpaid work creates the foundation on which productive economic activity rests.
The Bench also highlighted estimates suggesting that unpaid caregiving and domestic work performed by women contributes between 15% and 17% of India’s GDP. Despite this enormous value, such labour remains largely uncompensated and frequently overlooked in legal and economic assessments.
With the ruling, the Court has attempted to bridge that gap, transforming what has long been treated as invisible labour into a legally recognised and measurable contribution.
