NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar‘s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), asking the party to fully comply with the court’s interim order that allowed the use of ‘clock’ symbol in elections, but with a disclaimer. The notice came in response to a plea filed by the Sharad Pawar-led group concerning the use of the symbol.
In its directive, the top court instructed Ajit Pawar to submit an undertaking, guaranteeing that he and his faction will fully adhere to the court’s interim order.
According to the order, the Ajit Pawar faction is allowed to use the clock symbol, but with a condition that it would be mentioned in all advertisements and pamphlets that “matter is sub-judice.”
A three-judge bench, led by Justice Surya Kant, issued the notice to the deputy chief minister and others. The court emphasised that this directive must be meticulously followed, even during the state assembly election process.
The counsel representing the Sharad Pawar faction had earlier argued that the plea requests both factions be prohibited from using the “clock” symbol. The lawyer had also claimed that the Ajit Pawar-led group was not complying with the Supreme Court’s order.
Sharad Pawar has approached the Supreme Court, challenging the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s decision from February 6, which recognized the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the authentic Nationalist Congress Party.
Before the party’s split, the ECI had assigned the NCP’s “clock” symbol to the group led by Ajit Pawar. The “clock” had originally been the election symbol of the NCP since its founding by Sharad Pawar.
In an order passed on March 19, the apex court permitted the Sharad Pawar faction to use the name “Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar” and the symbol depicting a man blowing a “turha” for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
This decision was made in response to a plea by the Sharad Pawar group, which sought to prevent the Ajit Pawar faction from using the “clock” symbol allocated by the ECI, arguing that it was disrupting the level playing field.