The judgment highlights the inadequacy of compensation for homemakers and the need for amending laws to properly assess and compensate their work.

"The time has come for Parliament to have a rethink on properly assessing the value of homemakers' and householders' work and suitably amending the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act and other related laws for giving compensation when the victims are women and homemakers," - observed the Hon'ble Supreme Court, while deciding the case of Arun Kumar Agrawal and Anr. Vs. National Insurance Company and Ors., reported in MANU/SC/0507/2010.

2. The lack of law has resulted in grant of inadequate compensation to the family of a homemaker and the Cross-Objection made in this case would go to show that there is every justification for the observation of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, cited supra.

3. In respect of the death of one Sakunthala, aged 50 years, a Vegetable Merchant and Farmer, earning a sum of Rs.7,000/- per month, the husband, daughters and sons (seven in numbers) of the deceased filed a claim petition, claiming a sum of Rs.7,00,000/-.

4. The claim was disputed by the respondent in the MCOP / Transport Corporation, on the ground that the alleged accident had happened only due to the negligent driving of the two-wheeler bearing Registration No.TN21-K-4548 and the petition is bad for non-joinder of necessary parties, i.e., the owner and the Insurance Company of the two-wheeler and therefore, the Transport Corporation was not liable to pay any compensation.

5. The Tribunal, on consideration of the materials placed before it, came to the conclusion that, apart from the allegations against the driver in the First Information Report, the averments in the First Information Report stands corroborated by the evidence of the P.W.2, the eye-witness, and hence the liability is only on the part of the Transport Corporation. Moreover, the Tribunal has also relied upon the evidence of the driver of the Transport corporation and on a cumulative consideration has given a finding that the negligence is only on the part of the driver of the Transport Corporation.

5.1. Nothing prevented the Transport Corporation from filing the petition to implead the owner and insurer of the two-wheeler and that step has not been taken. Under the circumstances, the liability fixed on the part of the Transport corporation cannot be said to be unjustified.

6. In order to find out the justifiability of the quantum of the compensation, it is necessary to consider the age of the claimants, the extent of the dependency of the claimants and the contribution of the deceased to the family of the claimants.

7. A perusal of the award passed by the Tribunal would go to show that the monthly income of the deceased has been taken at Rs.3,500/-, deducting 1/4th towards the personal expenses and adopting the multiplier of 14', loss of dependency has been arrived at Rs.4,41,000/-. Awarding transport expenses at Rs.3,500/-, cremation expenses at Rs.5,000/- and loss of love and affection at Rs.50,000/- total amount has been quantified at Rs.4,99,500/-.

8. The age of the deceased had been determined as 45', based on post-mortem report. There was a finding that there was no documentary evidence to prove the income and therefore, the monthly income has been fixed at Rs.3,500/-, based on the decision of the Delhi High Court reported in 2009 (4) Law Weekly 229 (National Insurance Company v. Minor. Deepika).

8.1. The first claimant is the husband and the other claimants are the children, totally there had been seven dependents upon the income of the deceased.

8.2. The claimants are aged 57, 30, 27, 25, 22, 20 and 19 respectively. Out of seven dependents, first claimant is the husband and out of remaining six, three are daughters and three are sons.

8.3. The claim of the dependents is that the deceased had been discharging household responsibilities as a homemaker, apart from being employed as Vegetable Merchant and Farmer. In a family where there are large number of dependents, the mother/homemaker is bound to make extra earnings in order to keep the family going. Just because there is