Underlining the significant role played by a housewife, the Supreme Court on Thursday recognised loss of wife's domestic care as a separate head of compensation in motor accident claims under the Motor Vehicles Act (MV Act). "We only hope and trust that the homemaker will now acquire the acronym of nation-builder," the top court said.The ruling was passed by a bench of justices Sanjoy Karol and NK Singh while granting additional compensation in a motor vehicle accident case to a widower for the loss of his wife. The bench said the housewife contributes to the growth of the human being and the nation and quantified the amount for the loss of her domestic care at ₹30,000 per month. The court said that homemakers are "nation builders and they ought to be recognised as such".It adds "we have laid down the principles and, as a nation-builder, have quantified the amount that the loss of domestic care monthly income, in any event, would be ₹30,000 per month. We have also carved out a new principle following Pranay Sethi, and this is in addition to what has been laid down therein".The bench said that the contribution of homemakers extends far beyond unpaid household labour and plays a critical role in nation-building. The judgment adds that homemakers are often the first teachers of children and play a central role in shaping social values, behaviour and relationships across generations.The judgment was passed on a plea, challenging a 2024 ruling by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. It involved a road accident between two vehicles in which a woman was killed in 2001. The high court had awarded a compensation of over ₹8 lakh to the family of the victim, including her husband and three children.The top court noted that the compensation claim had remained pending for more than two decades. The bench treated the deceased homemaker's contribution under the newly-created head of loss of domestic care at ₹30,000 per month and recalculated the compensation payable to the family.The compensation was ultimately enhanced to ₹62.77 lakh along with the interest awarded by the high court. The bench, however, went beyond the facts of the case.The bench rejected the notion that homemakers are dependent on earning members of a family."In our view, it is ironic to describe a homemaker as dependent on earning members, when, in reality, the household's functioning depends substantially on the homemaker," the judgment adds.