New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to interfere with the dismissal of a Christian officer who was terminated from the Indian Army in 2021 for refusing to enter the sanctum sanctorum of his regiment’s Mandir and Gurdwara during weekly religious parades.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi upheld the Delhi High Court’s ruling, which had affirmed the Army’s decision on the ground that Lieutenant Samuel Kamalesan’s conduct amounted to disobedience of lawful military commands and was detrimental to unit cohesion.
The CJI Kant-led Bench took a stern view of the officer’s insistence that his faith barred him from entering the inner shrine, despite repeated counselling from senior officials and even a local pastor. “If this is the attitude of an Army officer, then what to say!” the apex court remarked while rejecting the plea.
Posted to a Sikh squadron, Lt Kamalesan had argued that stepping inside the sanctum would violate the First Commandment — “You shall have no other gods before me.” He argued that he always attended the parades but stood outside the innermost area as a mark of respect to both his faith and the sentiments of his troops.
On the other hand, the Army argued before the Delhi High Court that this was an issue of discipline and leadership, rather than personal belief.
In its decision, the Delhi High Court had observed that the Armed Forces operate on heightened discipline where “nation before self; and certainly, nation before religion” governs every action. As a Commanding Officer, the Delhi HC said, Kamalesan carried an additional responsibility to bond with his troops and maintain morale.
Upholding his dismissal, a Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur of the Delhi HC, in its order dated May 30, held, “The petitioner has kept his religion above a lawful command from his superior. This clearly is an act of indiscipline.”
The Supreme Court also questioned whether the officer’s conduct did not amount to insulting the faith of his own troops. “You refuse to go just because there is a temple and Gurdwara there. Does it not amount to hurting the feelings of your soldiers?” the CJI Kant-led Bench asked.
“Where in Christian faith is entering the sanctum sanctorum of a temple barred? Article 25 protects essential practices, not every individual sentiment,” it added.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Kamalesan, argued that the officer was being punished for a single infraction and that he was otherwise “disciplined in all respects”. Sankaranarayanan added that Kamalesan had participated in ceremonies at “Sarva Dharma Sthals” elsewhere, but at his posting there were “only a temple and a Gurdwara”. The apex court noted that even a pastor had advised the officer that entering the regimental place of worship would not violate Christian tenets.
“You cannot have your own private understanding of what your religion says, that too when in uniform,” the CJI Kant-led Bench remarked, terming the conduct “the grossest kind of indiscipline by an Army official”.
When the petitioner sought that the penalty to be reduced on grounds of proportionality, the Supreme Court declined. “You may be outstanding in a hundred things, but the Indian Army is known for its secular approach. When you cannot maintain discipline there… you have failed to respect the sentiments of your own soldiers,” it said.
Dismissing the appeal, CJI Kant-led Bench remarked that its decision would “send a strong message”.
(IANS)
