NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Ajit Pawar faction of NCP to continue using the ‘clock’ symbol for the Maharashtra assembly elections after the the deputy chief minister assured the court that he would publish a disclaimer within 36 hours in leading newspapers, including Marathi dailies, stating that the legal fight with NCP founder Sharad pawar over control of party and its symbol is subjudice.
Appearing before a bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan, senior advocate Balbir Singh gave undertaking on behalf of Ajit Pawar after the court made it clear that breakaway NCP faction would have to comply with its interim order passed earlier this year.
In an interim order, the apex court had on March 19 allowed Ajit’s faction to hit the hustings using party name and the symbol ‘clock’ but directed the Election Commision to recognise the rival faction as ‘NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar’ and reserve symbol of man blowing turha (trumpet) for it. It had directed Ajit’s faction to give notice in newspapers stating that the matter pertaining to legal fight over the symbol was subjudice and was subject to the final outcome of the case. It said that the faction should mention it in all its pamphlets or audio/video advertisement meant to attract voters.
“The respondents (NCP-Ajit Pawar) are directed to issue a public notice in the newspapers in English, Marathi, Hindi editions notifying that the allocation of the ‘clock’ symbol is sub judice and the respondents shall be permitted to use the same subject to the final outcome of the proceedings. Such a declaration shall be incorporated in every template, advertisement, audio or video clip issued on behalf of the respondent political party,” the court had said in its order.
Reminding its order, the bench directed that direction passed earlier had to be complied with in the ongoing election also and posted the hearing next week to take stock of compliance of its order by Ajit faction. The court was hearing a plea of Sharad Pawar who contended that Ajit Pawar was creating “large scale confusion” in the minds of voters by using the clock symbol without any disclaimer to make voters believe that his faction was associated with the founder of the party. He said the Ajit Pawar faction is misusing the clock symbol in violation of SC’s interim order.