NEW DELHI: Turning down the plea of the Sharad Pawar faction of NCP, Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the breakaway group led by Ajit Pawar to use the ‘clock’ symbol for Maharashtra assembly polls with the caveat that the deputy CM should mention in all print and audio/visual advertisements of the party that litigation over name and symbol of the undivided party is sub-judice.
The apex court asked Ajit Pawar to give an undertaking that he would meticulously follow the directive.
The rider can take away little from the disappointment of Sharad Pawar, who founded NCP after breaking away from Congress, who had sought freezing of ‘clock’ symbol on the ground that his rival faction was not complying with the condition imposed by the court. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice to Ajit Pawar and asked him to file response to the allegation.
The apex court decided to take stock of compliance of its order by Ajit Pawar’s faction and posted the case to November 6.
The SC bench asked both sides to follow its order in true spirit and made it clear that it would initiate contempt proceedings if it was found that there had been a deliberate attempt to defy its order.