On Tuesday, Supreme Court rejected a plea from an Army officer who is Christian. He challenged his termination for refusing to join weekly regimental religious parades. A bench that included Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi found no reason to change the Delhi High Court’s earlier ruling that supported his dismissal.
Supreme Court questions refusal to enter religious spaces
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan represented Officer Samuel Kamalesan. He argued that his client faced action for just one alleged act of disobedience: not entering the inner sanctum of a temple at his posting. He noted that the officer had attended ceremonies at places with “sarva dharma sthals” (common religious places), but the site in question featured only a temple and a gurdwara.
“Is this kind of difficult behavior allowed in a disciplined force?” CJI Kant asked during the hearing. Sankaranarayanan explained that the officer remained outside the temple because entering the sanctum “would be against his Christian faith.” He added, “He is not a difficult man. He is disciplined in every other way.”
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