Armed forces ‘united' by uniform' not divided by ‘religion': Delhi High Court
The armed forces comprise of personnel of allreligions and castes, they are 'united by their uniform' and undivided by their religion, the Delhi High Court made this comment recently while upholding the termination of a Christian Indian Army Officer who refused to participate in religious parades.
The termination order makes it clear that officer, Samuel Kamalesan, was resolute in his decision of not attending religious parades citing personal religious beliefs, which was corroborated by his Commanding Officer, said a division bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur.
It also said that Kamalesan was terminated on the basis of his conduct and its impact on military discipline and unit cohesion, rather than solelyon the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) ratings.
'Our Armed Forces comprise of personnel of allreligions, castes, creeds, regions, and faiths, whose sole motto is to safeguard the country from external aggressions, and, therefore, they are united by their uniform rather than divided by their religion, caste,or region,' the Delhi High Court said in its order.
'The Commanding Officers are to lead by example and not by division; and by placing the cohesion of the Unit above individual religious preferences, particularly when commanding troops who they will lead in combat situations and war,' the Court said.
Acknowledging the dedication of military personnel who guard India's borders day and night in adverse conditions, the court said the ethos of Indian armed forces places nation before self and certainly nation before religion.
Kamalesan has filed a plea in the Delhi High Court, challenging his termination order and dismissal from the Indian Army without pension and gratuity.
He has also sought reinstatement in service.
Kamalesan was commissioned in the Indian Army in March 2017 in the rank of a Lieutenant in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, which comprises of 3 squadrons of Sikh, Jat, and Rajput personnel.
He was appointed as the Troop Leader of Squadron B which comprises of Sikh personnel.
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