Man killed by army truck, Def Min told to pay Rs 17 lakhs

“Since the offending vehicle was a military vehicle, owned by the Commanding Officer of Sikh regiment and Ministry of Defence, they were jointly liable to pay the compensation,” MACT judge Deepa Sharma asked them to pay a total compensation of Rs 17.61 lakh to Devki Devi, wife of 47-year-old accident victim Nandan Singh.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal also directed them to pay the compensation along with an interest of 7.5 per cent from the day of filing the petition.

Nandan, an ex-serviceman working in the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd at Palam, was going to office on October 11 2002 when the incident took place.

He was hit by the military truck, being driven at a very high speed by Kulwant Singh, when he reached Delhi Cantonment.

He was admitted to a private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries the same day, the court said.

The victim’s wife, Devki along with her children had filed a petition on October 12 2003, seeking a compensation of Rs 20 lakh.