On June 22, 2026, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment recognizing the economic value of unpaid domestic work performed primarily by women. The ruling came in the case of Kirti v. Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., where the court held that homemakers' contributions must be factored into compensation calculations for motor accident victims.
A bench comprising Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and Vikram Nath stated that domestic work, often invisible in economic metrics, constitutes real value. The court directed that notional income for homemakers be set at a minimum of βΉ30,000 per month, based on the 2025 report of the Expert Committee on Unpaid Work.
The judgment emphasized that ignoring this work perpetuates gender inequality. It cited data from the 2023-24 Time Use Survey by the National Statistical Office, which found that women spend an average of 5.8 hours per day on unpaid domestic services, compared to 1.2 hours for men.
Legal experts hailed the decision as a step toward recognizing women's economic contributions. The ruling applies to all pending and future motor accident claims, ensuring that families of deceased homemakers receive fair compensation.
