The Army viewed this as non-compliance with military customs, especially inside a regiment where such rituals are found as part of device bonding and morale. It was argued that his refusal to take part could negatively influence cohesion inside the regiment.Noting that he commanded Sikh, Jat and Rajput troopers, the court stated his conduct insulte

Justice Bagchi pointed out the officer experienced, in his reply, admitted that other Christian officers mentioned “you should get it done, there is not any issues”. “But your interpretation of your religious rights is ‘I am not going to offer flowers or havan in a very gurudwara’.The bench responded the officer acted from "religious Moi"