The Indian Army is known for its bravery as well as its secular character, where discipline is the highest religion. But when a military officer put his personal faith above duty, it became a tragedy.

Supreme Court Remark on Indian Army: The Indian Army is known for its bravery as well as its secular character, where discipline is the biggest religion. But when an army officer placed his personal faith above duty, he had to pay a heavy price. The Supreme Court has rejected the petition of an officer dismissed from the army, who had refused to visit the regiment's temple and gurudwara citing his being a Christian. The court clearly said that such a person is not fit to remain in the army who breaks the regiment's rules due to personal faith.

Samuel Kamlesh joined the 3rd Cavalry Regiment as a lieutenant in 2017. This regiment is primarily composed of Sikh, Jat, and Rajput soldiers. He was appointed troop leader of Squadron B, which consisted of Sikh soldiers. According to Army regulations, he was required to lead a weekly religious parade and visit a religious site with the soldiers. However, Samuel refused to participate in the parade, stating that the regiment only had temples and gurdwaras, and as a Christian, he would not enter them.

The priest also explained, but he did not agree.

Senior army officers tried to persuade Samuel, enlisting the help of other Christian officers, who explained that this was part of army discipline. A local Christian pastor even explained to Samuel that attending a mass religious service would not harm his Christian faith. However, Samuel remained adamant and refused to listen. After all these efforts failed, he was dismissed from service on March 3, 2021, on the orders of the Chief of Army Staff, without pension or gratuity.

Uniforms do not divide, they unite

Samuel first challenged his dismissal in the Delhi High Court. A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur ruled that the armed forces are united by their uniforms and that religion does not divide them. This was not a matter of religious freedom, but rather of obeying a lawful order from a superior officer. Now, a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has also upheld the Army's decision. The court held that Samuel had committed indiscipline and hurt the sentiments of his colleagues, making him unfit to remain in the Army.

 PC:NBT