A Muslim cannot grow a beard after joining the Indian Air Force (IAF) as discipline, uniformity and cohesiveness in the armed forces could not be sacrificed for religious beliefs, which clashed with the rules of a defence force, the Indian Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao said the defence forces were required to maintain a secular character as people from different faiths and religions joined to serve the nation and regulations and policies on personal appearance were not intended to discriminate against religious beliefs. The court said, for effective and thorough functioning of a large combat force, its members must be bound together by a sense of "espirit de corps, without distinctions of caste, creed, colour or religion." The SC said growing a beard was not a fundamental part of Islam and upheld the government policy that personnel from the Muslim community could not be allowed to grow one after joining the IAF. The court dismissed the plea of two Muslim IAF officials seeking the court`s direction to quash the policy and allow them to sport beards. The court did consider the case of a community like Sikhs whose members wear turbans and have beards and noted, "No material has been produced before this court to indicate that the appellant professes a religious belief that would bring him within the ambit of Regulation 425(b), which applies to personnel whose religion prohibits the cutting off of hair or shaving the face of its members."India is a secular nation in which every religion must be treated with equality. In the context of the armed forces, which comprise men and women following a multitude of faiths, the needs of secular India are accommodated by recognizing right of worship and by respecting religious beliefs. Yet, in a constitutional sense, it cannot be overlooked that the overarching necessity of a force which has been raised to protect the nation is to maintain discipline. "The appellant, having been enrolled as a member of the air force, was necessarily required to abide by the discipline of the force. Regulations and policies in regard to personal appearance are not intended to discriminate against religious beliefs nor do they have the effect of doing so. Their object and purpose is to ensure uniformity, cohesiveness, discipline and order indispensable to the air force, as indeed to every armed force of the Union.There can be no gainsaying the fact that maintaining the unity of the force is an important facet of instilling a sense of commitment and dedication amongst the members of the force. Every member of the air force while on duty is required to wear the uniform and not display any sign or object which distinguishes one from another. Uniformity of personal appearance is quintessential to a cohesive, disciplined and coordinated functioning of an armed force." The court passed the order on a plea by Airmen Mohammed Zubair and Ansari Aaftab Ahmed challenging the order of Punjab and Haryana High Court which held that rules broadly accommodated "the basic interest of various religions in a secular manner."Source: Times of India