SRINAGAR: A 25-year struggle by a Haryana family for compensation following the death of a homemaker in a road accident has prompted the Supreme Court to issue nationwide directions aimed at reducing delays in motor accident compensation cases and ensuring faster justice for victims’ families.
The case arose from the death of a 35-year-old woman who was travelling from Sirsa to Fatehabad on November 25, 2001, when she was killed in a road accident caused by rash and negligent driving. Her husband, Shishu Pal, and other family members approached the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal seeking compensation for the loss of the family’s primary caregiver and homemaker.
The tribunal awarded only Rs 2.42 lakh in December 2003. Unsatisfied, the family appealed to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2004. What followed was a legal battle that stretched for two decades. The appeal remained pending when a fire damaged or destroyed thousands of court files in 2011. Reconstruction of records took years, and the case was finally decided by the High Court only in December 2024, when compensation was enhanced to Rs 8.43 lakh. Even then, the family continued its fight before the Supreme Court.
Examining the case, a Bench headed by Justice Sanjay Karol questioned why an appeal arising from a beneficial welfare legislation remained pending for seven years before the fire and then for another 14 years afterwards. The court observed that when compensation claims involving death or serious injury remain unresolved for decades, the suffering of affected families is compounded rather than alleviated.
The Supreme Court expanded its inquiry beyond the individual case and analysed more than 100 motor accident compensation appeals from across the country. It found that in nearly half the matters, High Court pendency exceeded four years and concluded that an “unhappy picture” had emerged regarding delays in such cases.
In directions addressed to High Courts nationwide, the court requested Chief Justices to identify and prioritise motor accident compensation appeals that have been pending for more than four years and to list the oldest matters first. It also asked High Courts to assess whether additional benches dealing with Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) matters are required to clear backlogs.
The judgment also introduced procedural measures intended to reduce delays at the tribunal stage. Claimants seeking compensation will now be expected to file supporting documents relating to age, disability, income, medical expenses and other claims at the outset, reducing adjournments caused by incomplete records.
While issuing the systemic directions, the court also delivered a landmark ruling on the valuation of homemakers’ work. Calling homemakers “nation builders”, it held that their contribution to households and society has long been undervalued. The Bench created a new compensation category called “loss of domestic care”, fixing a benchmark value of Rs 30,000 per month for homemakers with no independently proven income and directing that this amount be revised every three years upward.
Applying that principle to the Haryana family’s case, the Supreme Court treated the deceased homemaker’s contribution as equivalent to a monthly income of Rs 30,000 and recalculated compensation accordingly. The family’s award was increased dramatically from the Rs 8.43 lakh granted by the High Court to Rs 62.77 lakh, ending a legal battle that began shortly after the woman died in 2001.
The judgment is expected to have implications not only for compensation awarded in cases involving homemakers but also for the management of thousands of pending accident claims across India’s High Courts.
