Faith vs Duty: Why SC Ruling In Lt Kamalesan Case Reinforces Army Ethos | Opinion

On November 25, 2025, a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi declined to interfere with the Delhi High Court's May 30 order that had upheld the dismissal of Lieutenant Samuel Kamalesan, saying the officer had kept his religion above a lawful command from a superior, which was "clearly an act of indiscipline". The officer had reportedly argued that participating in religious rituals went against his Christian beliefs.

The Supreme Court ruling upheld the dismissal of Lieutenant Samuel Kamalesan, a Christian officer, for refusing to participate in religious rituals at his Regiment's mandir and gurdwara. Describing him as a "misfit", the top court backed the Army's decision to terminate him in 2021. Commissioned in 2017, Samuel Kamalesan was posted with a Sikh Squadron of 3 Cavalry. He faced disciplinary proceedings for declining to enter the inner sanctum of the Regiment's mandir and gurudwara during mandatory parades.

Apparently, Kamalesan claimed that his objection stemmed not only as a sign of respect for his Christian faith, but also out of respect for the sentiments of his troops, so as not to offend their religious sentiments with his non-participation in rituals. He also argued that his troops did not take offence, nor did it impact his strong bond with them, as per reports in the Bar and Bench.

The Army, however, said the officer refused to change his stance even after counselling by senior officers and Christian clergy. He was eventually terminated in 2021. There is no doubt that his attitude vitiated the atmosphere in his Regiment, undermined unit cohesion and troop morale. Hence, his dismissal was the only logical option.

Un Becoming Conduct

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who appeared for Kamalesan, argued that the officer had committed only a "single infraction" by refusing to enter the sanctum at his place of posting. He went on to state that: "entering the sanctum sanctorum is a violation of my faith. It's not that when you join the Army, you lose the vestiges of your faith," he said, adding, "No one had a problem. Only one person."

That 'one' person happened to be the Commandant of the Regiment, who is entrusted with the responsibility of command and control and upholding the honour and traditions of the Regiment, apart from looking into the welfare of the men he commands.

Command of a unit is undoubtedly the most significant responsibility entrusted to an officer. He is not 'one person' but 'the person' as far as a unit is concerned.

But apart from that, it can be said with certainty that this was not a solitary decision but has been supported and upheld by the Colonel of the Regiment and the Commanders in the chain till the highest level, who would have also been given legal advice by the Judge Advocate General.

Justice Bagchi noted that Kamalesan was counselled by a Pastor who said there was no issue entering the sanctum sanctorum. "But then also he has his own personal interpretation. If the Pastor, the head of your faith, says it does not affect the essential features of your faith, will the personal understanding of the believer be unique, or will the pastor's view override?"

To this, Sankaranarayan said, "The conversation with the Pastor was limited to the Sarva Dharma Sthal, not Temple or Gurdwara."

CJI Kant said the leaders of troops must "lead by example". "You are the group leader. In your team, there are Sikh soldiers, and because of them, there is a Sikh gurudwara. A gurudwara is one of the most secular places to visit. The tone and tenor and manner in which he is acting, is he not insulting his own soldiers? We are surprised he doesn't even follow the advice of the Pastor," he said.

No wonder the Supreme Court chided Kamalesan's conduct. "What kind of message is he sending? Gross indiscipline by an Army officer. He should have been terminated. He may be an outstanding officer but he is a misfit for the Indian Army. The amount of responsibilities our forces have at this time, this is not what we want to entertain," the Court added.

Third Cavalry

One of the oldest and distinguished Armoured Regiments of the Indian Army. It owes its origin to two older Regiments, the 7th Irregular Cavalry, which was raised in 1841 at Bareilly, and the 17th Cavalry, which was raised at Sultanpur in 1846.

Third Cavalry earned the sobriquet of "Patton Wreckers" during the 1965 War when their Centurion tanks stopped the advance of Pakistan's Armoured Division in the battle of Assal Uttar in Punjab during the 1965 War. The Regiment was then commanded by Lieutenant Colonel (later Major General) Salim Caleb, who himself was a Christian and led his troops valiantly to victory, earning for the Regiment the Battle Honour, 'AsalUttar' and a Theatre Honour, 'Punjab 71'; and was personally awarded with the Maha Vir Chakra.

Its soldiers are Jats, Rajputs and Sikhs and in its history has been commanded by officers who have been Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and Christian. In fact, Colonel (later Brigadier) Kutab Hai, a Muslim officer who commanded the Regiment, had earlier commanded the Sikh Squadron. As a Squadron Commander, he was at the forefront of all religious activities in the Gurdwara.

At the Regiment level, the officer would have been guided and schooled regarding the rich traditions, history and ethos of the Regiment as well as about the culture and religious beliefs of its troops. But he chose to put his own faith and belief above the considerations of the Regiment. The act of dismissing him would also have been well thought out and resorted to only after all counselling had failed.

The Ethos of the Army

The Indian Army is defined by its values, ethos and traditions. While the Army is a large organisation, its core is a unit; this can be termed as the 'soul of the Army'. There are units which are based on one class or community, such as the Sikh, Jat, Rajput, Dogra and Gorkha Regiments. These maintain the places of worship of their troops and have Religious Teachers posted as per the religion of their men.

Then there are those that have a mix of communities but from a particular area, such as the JAK LI and JAK RIF, where the men mainly belong to Jammu & Kashmir and the former maintains a Mandir, Masjid and Gurdwara. The older Armoured Regiments, such as Third Cavalry, are fixed classes with each Sabre Squadron belonging to a particular class composition. Whereas the newer ones are mixed. The latter has a Sarv Dharm Sthan.

The Armoured Corps today has a healthy mix of Fixed-Class composition Regiments and Mixed-Class composition Regiments. This affords one to learn from the other with distinct benefits in operations. The strength of both is leveraged by the field Commander when the operational grouping is ordained for operations.

Religion in the Armed Forces is a binding force that is visible during operations, and this needs to be clearly understood. The basic function of all military units is to undertake operational tasks in war and train for that day during peace. During war, the situation is extremely fluid and tense. It is the faith of the troops in their religion and their training that affords the strength to press home against a well-entrenched adversary at such times.

The life-altering experience then finds solace in the Regiment's War-cry and the troops' religious affinity, often with battle-winning outcomes, at times against all odds. Faith is used to strengthen the fraternity, which in turn has faith in each other.

Though the Army does have a very structured way of judging an individual by means of the Services Selection Board (SSB) before he is found fit to be trained as an officer, Kamalesan's rigidity regarding his belief overriding that of the organisation seems to have been overlooked. There definitely needs to be an examination of his reports, including those of the psychologist at the SSB and while he was in his Training Academy.

Conclusion

While all officers in the Army are free to practice their own beliefs and religion, in private, publicly in the Armed Forces, they adopt the religion of the men they command. It is this practice that results in officers attending and partaking in the various religious rituals of their troops, irrespective of their own faith. My own Regiment has a class composition of Jats, Muslims and Rajputs, and all officers and JCOs participate in all religious functions and attend both Mandir and Masjid functions.

The fundamental right to practice religion cannot be applied in such circumstances as the individual's interpretation of religious right is not offended. In fact, in the Army, religion is seen as a uniting factor and cannot divide communities.

The Indian Army rests on this foundation of secularism. Regimental places of worship nurture a sense of belonging and are symbols of identity, tradition, morale, and shared purpose. They nurture a sense of belonging, not just worship. More than faith, they represent fraternity. To quote Lieutenant General Hasnain, "In uniform, personal belief cannot be allowed to overshadow institutional duty".

It is these values and ethos of the Army that were upheld when the bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi said the officer's actions were the "grossest kind of indiscipline by an Army Officer".

The fact is that the Army is completely secular in its functioning and an officer, irrespective of his faith, upholds the religion, culture and traditions of the troops. Anyone who insults the beliefs and rituals of the men he commands is unfit to hold his position or to serve in that unit. An officer distancing himself from the religion of his troops will adversely affect the morale of his troops and undermine regimentation, which is the soul of the Army, and his actions can be termed as dereliction of duty.

It is the religion of the men that is paramount for an officer and not his own, and that's why it is often said that the Army has its own religion and an officer assumes the identity of his unit. It is this tradition that was upheld in the case of Lieutenant Kamalesan.

(Disclaimer: Major General Jagatbir Singh, VSM (Retd) is a Distinguished Fellow, United Service Institution of India. Views are personal.)