Source: International Christian Concern, June 10, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a recent judgment, the Delhi High Court upheld the dismissal of a Christian army officer by the Indian Army for his refusal to participate in specific religious rituals during regimental parades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lieutenant Samuel Kamalesan challenged the Indian Army order dated March 3, 2021, dismissing him from the army without pension and gratuity, and sought reinstatement in service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the Delhi High Court upheld the dismissal by the Indian army, concluding that Kamalesan\u2019s refusal to participate in specific religious rituals during regimental parades, citing his Christian faith, constituted insubordination and indiscipline, thereby justifying his termination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kamalesan stated that his regiment maintained only a mandir (Hindu temple) and a gurudwara (Sikh place of worship) for religious observances and parades, but did not have a Sarv Dharm Sthal\u2014a place of worship accommodating all faiths\u2014and noted that there was no Christian church on the premises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He claimed that he regularly accompanied his troops to the mandir and gurudwara for weekly religious parades and festivals but sought exemption from entering the innermost sanctum of the temple during rituals such as puja, havan, or aarti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kamalesan stated that he abstained from entering the sanctum sanctorum of temples and gurudwaras during weekly regimental religious parades, aligning with his Protestant Christian beliefs that prohibit idol worship. He maintained that his participation in the outer areas of these religious sites was a sign of respect and solidarity with his troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the Army contended that participation in regimental religious activities is integral to fostering unit cohesion and morale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also read about an Indian Christian army officer fired for refusing to join a Sikh ceremony<\/a> (Christian Today).<\/p>\n\n\n\n From another hotspot: Read about Friday\u2019s massacre of more than 200 Christians in Nigeria<\/a> (International Christian Concern).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Source: International Christian Concern, June 10, 2025 In a recent judgment, the Delhi High Court upheld the dismissal of a Christian army officer by the Indian Army for his refusal to participate in specific religious rituals during regimental parades. Lieutenant Samuel Kamalesan challenged the Indian Army order dated March 3, 2021, dismissing him from the … Continue reading India: Dismissal of Christian Army Officer Upheld by High Court<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-briefs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13892"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13907,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13892\/revisions\/13907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}