Post by FIRST DRAFT Magazine

FIRST DRAFT | In the Magazine Placing Faith above Force Lieutenant Samuel Kamalesan was expected to enter the sanctorum of the Gurdwara of the Regiment he led to perform routine rituals. But, citing his faith in Christianity, he refused to enter the sanctum, leading to his dismissal and judicial upholding of it by the Delhi High Court and later the Supreme Court. His advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan argued: “I cannot be forced to worship a deity. The Constitution permits that much freedom…. the first commandment (of my religion) says thou shall not worship another god.” But Chief Justice Surya Kant who headed the bench that dismissed his appeal against the Delhi High Court judgement, said: “Leaders have to lead by example. You are insulting your troops.” The Army’s Third Cavalry regiment has three squadrons -- of Sikhs, Rajputs and Jats; Lt. Kamalesan was leading the Sikh Squadron. His affidavit stated that he never failed in his duty of leading the troop on their weekly religious parades. His sole objection was to entering the sanctum sanctorum of the temple or gurdwara and performing the religious rituals. #Indianarmy #BJP #Supremecourtofindia To Read More https://lnkd.in/gDwVysba