Navdeep Singh

Captain / Major Navdeep Singh is an author, activist,^[1][2] lawyer and a member of the Indian Territorial Army.

Achievements

Captain (Capt.)/Major (Maj.) Navdeep Singh is the most decorated officer in the history of the Indian Territorial Army,^[3] a volunteer force in which gainfully employed and self employed professionals receive military training for a few days in a year so that in the event of a war or a national emergency they can bear arms for the defence of the nation. Singh is also the youngest person connected with the Territorial Army to have been the recipient of five commendations.^[4] Singh has recently been awarded with his sixth and seventh decoration ^{[5] [6]}

He has time and again earned commendations from the Indian Army .^[7][8]

Awards and honours

As can be gathered from independently published articles and official Indian Army website, the following are his honours and awards :-

• GOC-in-C’s Commendation : 2004 (event unknown)
• Chief of the Army Staff’s Commendation (On Independence Day 2005):^[9]
• GOC-in-C’s Commendation (Also on Independence Day 2005) :^[10]
• AOC-in-C’s Commendation by Air Force (Republic Day 2006) :^[4]
• GOC-in-C’s Commendation (Republic Day 2007) :^[11]
• Chief of the Army Staff's Commendation (Army Day 2008) :^[12]
• Seventh Decoration (Date and nature unknown) :^[13]

Profession

Maj Navdeep Singh is a lawyer by profession and is based at the High Court of the States of Punjab & Haryana in Chandigarh, India.

He is credited with the execution of implementation of the Indian Tolls (Army & Air Force) Act, 1901 all over India.^[14] This Act which was passed in 1901 provides for toll tax exemption to private vehicles of defence personnel irrespective of whether they are on duty or not. There was a controversy over implementation of the Act on private toll operators and private toll roads and bridges but the controversy was settled in 2003 when on a case taken up by him, the Indian Ministry of Road Transport & Highways clarified that the Act was valid even for the present times and toll exemption was to be granted to both ‘on duty’ and ‘off duty’ defence personnel.

Toll tax exemption to defence personnel was later challenged in the Punjab & Haryana High Court by way of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) but the petition was dismissed by the Court which upheld the exemption. The Indian Tolls (Army & Air Force) Act, 1901 was then Challenged in the Supreme Court of India but the petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court too, thus upholding the provisions of the Act which provides a very special privilege to the military community.^[15][16]

He is also credited with effective implementation of entertainment tax exemption to serving defence personnel in cinemas and theatres. Most of the Indian states offer entertainment tax exemption to men in uniform but the rule was seldom followed or recognized by cinema halls.^[4]

Other work

He has also worked for the benefit of World War-II veterans ^[17][18] and authored two books, Soldiers Know Your Rights which was released by General J J Singh, India’s Chief of the Army Staff and Pension in the defence services released by Western Army Commander of India, General T K Sapru.

Another lesser known book called Fauj Hai Mauj (Military is fun) was also written by this author

Bibliography

• Fauj Hai Mauj (Military is Fun) : 2000
• Soldiers, Know Your Rights : 2005
• Pension in the Defence Services : 2009 ^[19]

References

1. ^ India Tribune 29 Nov 2006
2. ^ Bharat Rakshak
3. ^ Item from The Indian Express regarding award and record
4. ^ ^{a b c} The Tribune (India) regarding award and youth of recipient (with photo)
5. ^ The Tribune (India) report on sixth decoration
6. ^ India Today Magazine
7. ^ PressDaemon.com
8. ^ India Tribune 13 Jun 2006
9. ^ List Of Personnel Awarded Coas Cc On The Occasion Of
10. ^ India Tribune 15 Aug 2005
11. ^ Yahoo News 27 Jan 2007
12. ^ India Tribune 17 Jan 2008
13. ^ India Today Jan 2009
14. ^ India Code
15. ^ http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=207677
16. ^ Supreme Court upholds 105 year old law
17. ^ Bharat Rakshak
18. ^ Tribune India, 31 Jan 2006
19. ^ Punjab Newsline

External links

• India Tribune 22 Nov 2001
• Lancer Publishers
• India Tribune 24 Nov 2004
• Bharat Rakshak

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Name	Singh, Navdeep
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