• Officer and Regiment: Lieutenant Kamalesan was commissioned into the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, a "fixed-class" unit with squadrons of Sikh, Jat, and Rajput soldiers.
• The Conflict: Regimental tradition required officers to participate in all unit activities, including weekly parades at the on-premises temple and gurdwara, to foster morale and camaraderie. Kamalesan stated his Protestant Christian faith, which adheres to a monotheistic belief, prevented him from entering the inner sanctum (sanctum sanctorum) or performing puja (worship ritual) at other faiths' shrines. He was willing to be present in the courtyard but not engage in the specific rituals.
• Army Action: The Army viewed his refusal, despite repeated counseling by senior officers and even a Christian pastor, as an act of "gross indiscipline" and a failure of leadership that undermined unit cohesion and troop morale. He was dismissed from service in March 2021 without a court-martial, pension, or gratuity.

• The bench called him a "misfit" and "cantankerous," remarking that an officer should not have a "private understanding" of what religion permits while in uniform.
• Chief Justice Surya Kant noted that leaders must "lead by example" and that refusing to respect the sentiments of his troops was an insult to them.
• The Court reinforced that military service involves sacrificing a measure of individual liberty for the sake of discipline and national security, a principle protected under Article 33 of the Indian Constitution, which allows the restriction of fundamental rights for armed forces personnel. 

• Unit Cohesion over Personal Belief: The military's unique "secular" model focuses on harnessing collective faith as a unifying force, rather than the strict separation of religion from state institutions seen in some Western models.
• Symbolic Leadership: Officers are expected to lead by example and demonstrate respect for the sentiments of their troops of all faiths. An officer participates in the unit's shared religious space not as a personal act of worship but as a gesture of solidarity and leadership.
• Waiver of Fundamental Rights: Article 33 of the Indian Constitution allows for the modification or restriction of fundamental rights for armed forces personnel to ensure the proper discharge of their duties and the maintenance of discipline. The courts have consistently upheld that military standards of discipline are different from civilian standards. 

• Fostering Morale: Regimental traditions and religious parades serve a crucial motivational and psychological function in the Army, providing a shared anchor and connecting soldiers to centuries-old warrior traditions.
• Avoiding Division: The military environment is designed to eliminate differences of caste, creed, and community, uniting personnel by their uniform. Allowing individual objections to override this could set a dangerous precedent, potentially leading to the questioning of other lawful commands and undermining the entire command structure.
• Inclusivity through Participation: Past examples show officers of various faiths (Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh) participating in all unit religious activities without conflict, seeing it as part of their duty to the men they command. 

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