SC upholds dismissal of Christian Army officer who refused to enter a temple

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 25 November, dismissed a petition filed by former Army officer Samuel Kamalesan challenging his dismissal from service over his refusal to enter the sanctum sanctorum of a regimental temple during religious activities, terming his conduct “the grossest kind of indiscipline.”

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, upheld the Delhi High Court’s order that validated the Army’s action and held Kamalesan’s behaviour incompatible with military discipline.

"Is this sort of cantankerous conduct permissible in a disciplined force?" Justice Kant asked.

“What kind of message has he been sending? He should have been thrown out for this only. This is the grossest kind of indiscipline by an Army official,” CJI Kant observed during the hearing. The court emphasised that officers are expected to lead by example, especially in matters that influence cohesion within troops.

“You are insulting your troops. You cannot have a private understanding of what your religion permits when you are in uniform,” the bench remarked.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Kamalesan, argued that the officer was punished for a single act of refusal arising from his Christian faith, and submitted that Kamalesan had otherwise participated respectfully in all regimental and multi-faith events. He maintained that entering the sanctum would violate his conscience.

The bench noted that Kamalesan had declined to follow even the advice of a local pastor who had reportedly assured him that entering the “sarva dharma sthal” would not violate his Christian beliefs. Justice Bagchi observed, “Article 25 protects essential religious features, not every sentiment. Where in the Christian faith is entering a temple barred?”

The court also criticised the officer for refusing to accompany his Sikh-majority troop during regimental parades despite the regiment maintaining both a temple and a gurdwara. “A gurdwara is one of the most secular places,” CJI Kant said, adding that the officer’s conduct risked insulting the faiths of his soldiers and damaging regimental unity.

Commissioned in 2017 into the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, Kamalesan served as troop leader of the ‘B’ Squadron. According to the Army, multiple attempts were made to counsel him on the importance of regimental cohesion before concluding that his further retention was “undesirable”. The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the penalty of dismissal, stating that reducing the punishment would send the wrong message to the armed forces.