Fakeerappa And Anr vs Karnataka Cement Pipe Factory And Ors

The Supreme Court held that under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the deduction for personal expenses in calculating loss of dependency should not follow a rigid formula, and in this case, it was appropriate to restrict the deduction to one-third of the deceased's income. The Court found the multiplier of 18 adopted by the Tribunal to be slightly high but upheld it due to lack of challenge by the insurer in the High Court. The appeal was allowed to the extent of modifying the deduction for personal expenses, while the rate of interest awarded by the Tribunal was upheld as there was no prior challenge.