  We present multi-epoch near-infrared photo-spectroscopic observations of Nova
Cephei 2014 and Nova Scorpii 2015, discovered in outburst on 2014 March 8.79 UT
and 2015 February 11.84 UT respectively. Nova Cep 2014 shows the conventional
NIR characteristics of a Fe II class nova characterized by strong CI, HI and O
I lines, whereas Nova Sco 2015 is shown to belong to the He/N class with strong
He I, HI and OI emission lines. The highlight of the results consists in
demonstrating that Nova Sco 2015 is a symbiotic system containing a giant
secondary. Leaving aside the T CrB class of recurrent novae, all of which have
giant donors, Nova Sco 2015 is shown to be only the third classical nova to be
found with a giant secondary. The evidence for the symbiotic nature is
three-fold; first is the presence of a strong decelerative shock accompanying
the passage of the nova's ejecta through the giant's wind, second is the
H$\alpha$ excess seen from the system and third is the spectral energy
distribution of the secondary in quiescence typical of a cool late type giant.
The evolution of the strength and shape of the emission line profiles shows
that the ejecta velocity follows a power law decay with time ($t^{-1.13 \pm
0.17}$). A Case B recombination analysis of the H I Brackett lines shows that
these lines are affected by optical depth effects for both the novae. Using
this analysis we make estimates for both the novae of the emission measure
$n_e^2L$, the electron density $n_e$ and the mass of the ejecta.
