NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to provide details of newspaper advertisements issued following its order regarding the use of the ‘clock’ symbol.
The court directed the faction to include a disclaimer in all publicity material stating that the allocation of the symbol is sub judice.
The bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan asked senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the faction led by the Maharashtra deputy chief minister, to furnish information on the advertisements released post the court’s March 19 directive.This came after Sharad Pawar raised concerns about non-compliance with the court’s order.
“Mr Rohatgi you have your instructions on how many advertisements were issued after this order. We might be required to take a view if he (Ajit Pawar) is behaving like this. Nobody has a right to deliberately misconstrue our order,” the bench said.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Sharad Pawar, highlighted that the Ajit Pawar group failed to include the required disclaimer in their advertisements, despite the court’s clear directive on March 19. Singhvi argued against entertaining any applications seeking a review of the order, especially during the ongoing election period.
“Now, they have not complied with the direction and advertisements are being issued by them without the disclaimer. They have even filed an application before this court, seeking relaxation of the reasoned order. This cannot be changed. We are in the middle period of the elections,” Singhvi submitted.
“Elections are on, your lordships will not entertain such a review. This is nothing but a blatant review. It is a reasoned order. This cannot be changed, we are in the middle of the elections,” he added.
Addressing the issue of non-compliance, Justice Kant stressed the need to continue the disclaimer in all advertisements until the elections are concluded. The bench directed Rohatgi to provide details on the number of advertisements published by the Ajit Pawar-led faction after March 19, emphasizing the straightforward nature of the court’s order.
On March 19, the top court allowed the Sharad Pawar faction to use ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ as its name for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the country.
It had also permitted the NCP bloc led by the veteran politician to use as its symbol ‘man blowing turha’ (a traditional trumpet also known as tutari).
The court also instructed the Ajit Pawar-led group to inform the public through newspaper notices that the allocation of the ‘clock’ symbol is sub judice. The court’s order required this information to be included in all promotional materials issued by the NCP.
The court directed the faction to include a disclaimer in all publicity material stating that the allocation of the symbol is sub judice.
The bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan asked senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the faction led by the Maharashtra deputy chief minister, to furnish information on the advertisements released post the court’s March 19 directive.This came after Sharad Pawar raised concerns about non-compliance with the court’s order.
“Mr Rohatgi you have your instructions on how many advertisements were issued after this order. We might be required to take a view if he (Ajit Pawar) is behaving like this. Nobody has a right to deliberately misconstrue our order,” the bench said.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Sharad Pawar, highlighted that the Ajit Pawar group failed to include the required disclaimer in their advertisements, despite the court’s clear directive on March 19. Singhvi argued against entertaining any applications seeking a review of the order, especially during the ongoing election period.
“Now, they have not complied with the direction and advertisements are being issued by them without the disclaimer. They have even filed an application before this court, seeking relaxation of the reasoned order. This cannot be changed. We are in the middle period of the elections,” Singhvi submitted.
“Elections are on, your lordships will not entertain such a review. This is nothing but a blatant review. It is a reasoned order. This cannot be changed, we are in the middle of the elections,” he added.
Addressing the issue of non-compliance, Justice Kant stressed the need to continue the disclaimer in all advertisements until the elections are concluded. The bench directed Rohatgi to provide details on the number of advertisements published by the Ajit Pawar-led faction after March 19, emphasizing the straightforward nature of the court’s order.
On March 19, the top court allowed the Sharad Pawar faction to use ‘Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar’ as its name for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the country.
It had also permitted the NCP bloc led by the veteran politician to use as its symbol ‘man blowing turha’ (a traditional trumpet also known as tutari).
The court also instructed the Ajit Pawar-led group to inform the public through newspaper notices that the allocation of the ‘clock’ symbol is sub judice. The court’s order required this information to be included in all promotional materials issued by the NCP.