The Supreme Court upheld the suspension of a Christian army officer who was denied entry into a temple/gurudwara due to his religious beliefs. Calling it ‘gross indiscipline’, the court said that such an officer is not fit for the secular Indian Army.
Samuel Kamalesan Case: The Supreme Court of India has upheld the suspension of a Christian army officer who refused to enter temples and gurudwaras citing his religious beliefs, despite orders from senior officers. While giving this order, the court also said that such officers are not fit to serve in the army. Samuel Kamlesh, a lieutenant in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, was ordered by a senior officer to go to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple for worship. But he refused to accept this order citing his religious beliefs. Their argument was that doing so would violate their Christian religion’s belief of ‘one God’. For this reason he was suspended. After this he approached the Delhi High Court. In May, Delhi High Court had also upheld his suspension order.
During this order, the court had said that ignoring a valid military order and putting religion above it is clearly indiscipline. After this the compilation reached the Supreme Court. During this time, the Supreme Court refused to interfere in the High Court order, calling it ‘gross indiscipline’. During this, Kamalesh said that he had forbidden to go to the temple and Gurudwara only when some religious program was taking place there. On this, Justice Bagachi retorted to the Commission and asked, where is it written in Christianity that you cannot go to the place of any other religion?
Supreme Court Justice Surya Kant, while upholding the High Court’s decision, said, “You may be very good at 100 things. But you are not at all fit for the Indian Army, which has always maintained secularism and treats everyone equal. You have failed to respect the religious sentiments of your own soldiers.”
Commenting on the issue, a user wrote, “My father, who served in the Army for 35 years and was a devout Christian, used to go to every temple, gurudwara or any place of worship that he was called to and he went of his own free will. He didn’t have to be ordered around. No one is asking you to pray or accept their beliefs or gods. You should be there as a symbol of goodwill and accept your fellow soldiers as they are, and then they Will accept you as you are.”