NCP ‘clock’ symbol | Supreme Court questions Ajit Pawar on publication of advertisement with disclaimer about ongoing dispute

The Supreme Court asked the Ajit Pawar group if they have complied with its order to publish advertisements with a disclaimer that a legal dispute with his uncle Sharad Pawar’s faction over the allocation of the party symbol is still pending

The Supreme Court on April 3 asked the Ajit Pawar group, now declared the “real Nationalist Congress Party”, if they have complied with its March 19 order to publish advertisements in the media with a disclaimer that a legal dispute with his uncle Sharad Pawar’s faction over the allocation of the party symbol ‘clock’ is still underway in the Supreme Court.

In an oral mentioning before a Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for the elder Pawar, who founded the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), informed that the group led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was yet to comply with the court order.

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“We are in the middle of the election season,” Mr. Singhvi pointed out. He said an application filed by the Ajit Pawar faction to relax the March 19 order was actually an attempt to review the court direction.

“It is nothing but a blatant review. It is a reasoned order,” Mr. Singhvi submitted.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi urged the court to modify the “last line” of the order.

In the March 19 order, the Supreme Court directed the NCP to “issue a public notice in the newspapers with Marathi, Hindi and English editions, notifying that the allocation of the “clock” symbol is sub-judice before the Supreme Court and the respondents (Ajit Pawar group) have been permitted to use the same subject to the final outcome of these proceedings. Such a declaration shall be incorporated in every pamphlet, advertisement, audio, or video clips to be issued on behalf of the respondents”.