ASHUTOSH Vs. ARUN JAITLEY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) "Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat; But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!" ["The Ballad of East and West" - Rudyard Kipling]

(2.) The appellant in FAO 235/2017 is the Chief Minister of Delhi, Mr Arvind Kejriwal, and the appellant in FAO 234/2017 is Mr Ashutosh; the spokesperson of the Aam Aadmi party. The respondent, in both these appeals, is the Union Finance Minister of the country, Mr Arun Jaitley. These are men of stature and accomplishment, regarded and respected by cognoscenti and laity alike. They, and the role they play, are central to the fulfillment, and furtherance, of the hopes and aspirations of millions in this country, who look to them as harbingers of good governance. And yet, there is, unquestionably, between them, a lis, a lis that has formed the grist of tabloid and electronic media mill alike, for over a year now, and it has fallen to our lot to draw the curtain on a short, but significant, chapter thereof.

(3.) For ease of reference, this judgement refers to Mr. Kejriwal and Mr Jaitley as "the appellant" and "the respondent" respectively. These appeals are directed against the same order, dated 26th July 2017, passed by the learned Single Judge on an application, being IA 6955/2017, filed by the respondent in CS (OS) 3457/2015.