JUDGMENT

Rajendra Babu, J.-The dispute in this case is in regard to the appointment to the post of Army Commander. When Lt. Gen. H.R.S. Kalkat (hereinafter referred to as respondent No. 2 ) was appointed or promoted as the Army Commander, Eastern Command, the same was challenged by Lt. Gen. Rajendra Singh Kadyan (hereinafter referred to as respondent No. 1 ) by way of a writ petition (Civil Writ No. 1527 of 1998) in the High Court of Delhi principally on the ground that he is the senior-most eligible officer to be appointed to that post; that he was seeking the aid of the court to prevent unnecessary and avoidable aberration with regard to appointment/promotion of senior officers in the Army and keeping in view the long term interest of the Army and the country so as to avoid politicalisation of the crucial posts in the Army; that he had won various meritorious awards; that he commanded a company in Nagaland and was awarded "Vishist Seva Medal" (VSM) on January 26, 1990 and as a Major General he commanded Assam Rifles, Rashtriya rifles and Border Security Force (BSF) and he was successfully able to bring cease fire in 1997 which is still holding; that he was awarded "Ati Vishist S