Death Of Housewife By Road Accident Is "Loss Of Future Prospects"
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-12-15 02:07:50
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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What is "loss of future prospects" when calculating claims for motor accidents? The narrow meaning is known to most, but in a landmark order, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has ordered the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to pay close to Rs 17 lakh to the family of a 33-year-old woman who was killed when their bike was rammed by a MSRTC bus in 2014.
Saying that a housewife's invaluable contribution in running the family cannot be ignored and that the family has suffered "loss of future prospects" due to her untimely death, the MACT fixed her notional salary at Rs 5000 and allowed future increase by as much as 40 percent to arrive at the compensation figure.
Such a decision was long overdue. The Supreme Court has been increasingly recognizing the role of the housewife. In Arun Kumar Agarwal versus National Insurance Company Ltd.(2010), the court laid down the logic in detail. The court said "In India the courts have recognized that the contribution made by the wife to the house is invaluable and cannot be computed in terms of money. The gratuitous services rendered by the wife with true love and affection to the children and her husband and managing the household affairs cannot be equated with the services rendered by others. A wife/mother does not work by the clock. She is in the constant attendance of the family throughout the day and night unless she is employed and is required to attend the employer's work for particular hours. She takes care of all the requirements of the husband and children including cooking of food, washing of clothes, etc. She teaches small children and provides invaluable guidance to them for their future life. A housekeeper or maidservant can do the household work, such as cooking food, washing clothes and utensils, keeping the house clean, etc., but she can never be a substitute for a wife/mother who renders selfless service to her husband and children. It is not possible to quantify any amount in lieu of the services rendered by the wife/mother to the family i.e. the husband and children. However, for the purpose of award of compensation to the dependents, some pecuniary estimate has to be made of the services of the housewife/mother. In that context, the term "services" is required to be given a broad meaning and must be construed by taking into account the loss of personal care and attention given by the deceased to her children as a mother and to her husband as a wife. They are entitled to adequate compensation in lieu of the loss of gratuitous services rendered by the deceased. The amount payable to the dependents cannot be diminished on the ground that some close relation like a grandmother may volunteer to render some of the services to the family which the deceased was giving earlier."
When a housewife dies in an accident, the opposite party cannot deny compensation by taking a plea that she was just a housewife and contributed nothing to the family. A housewife's contribution is invaluable. However, for the purpose of compensation, a notional figure has to be arrived at. Further, MACT has now rightly ordered that the untimely death of a housewife results in loss of future prospects for the family.
