SC asks Ajit Pawar to demonstrate how his faction adhered to NCP symbol order
On March 19, the Supreme Court allowed the Ajit Pawar faction to keep using the “clock” symbol and the NCP name but with a caveat
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to file an affidavit within 24 hours to demonstrate how his faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has adhered to a previous order that mandated the inclusion of disclaimers in advertisements and public notices, specifying that the “clock” symbol allocated to his faction was subject to ongoing judicial scrutiny.
Simultaneously, a bench of justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan asked the senior Pawar to submit an affidavit before the hearing on Thursday for repelling his nephew’s accusation that the Sharad Pawar camp was projecting the court’s interim order of March 19 as a final one.
On March 19, the bench allowed the Ajit Pawar faction to keep using the “clock” symbol and the NCP name but with a caveat that it would issue a public notice in leading English, Marathi, and Hindi dailies informing the public that the allocation of “clock” symbol is subject to the outcome of the petition heard by the court. Such a declaration shall be incorporated in every pamphlet, advertisement, audio, or video clip issued by the Ajit Pawar faction, the bench added.
On Wednesday, the matter was brought before the bench by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Sharad Pawar. Singhvi raised concerns about the non-compliance with the court’s order and pointed out that instead of following the directive, the Ajit Pawar faction has filed an application seeking relaxation of the March 19 order.
“Not only have they not complied with the court order, but they have also filed an application saying ‘relax it’, which is an admission that they are not complying. 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 elections,” Singhvi said.
Responding, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Ajit Pawar faction, contested Singhvi’s assertions. Rohatgi took the bench through certain advertisements having the required disclaimers, adding his application is only asking for the modification in the last line of this order for the future so that not every pamphlet or release by the Ajit Pawar faction ought to include the disclaimer, regardless of whether it has anything to do with elections or not.
At this, the bench asked Rohatgi to come back with instructions on Thursday as to how many advertisements were issued after the March 19 order. “They are your leaders. If what the other side is saying is true, we might be required to take a view...nobody has a right to deliberately misconstrue our order. The order is not very complicated; it is in simple language. There is only one meaning and there is no question of double interpretation,” remarked the court, asking Rohatgi to keep their affidavit ready before the hearing on Thursday.
“Mr Singhvi, you also keep an affidavit ready on the aspect that the Supreme Court has not finally decided the issue,” it told the other side.
The legal tussle stems from the split within the NCP in July 2023, following a rebellion led by the Ajit Pawar group. The Ajit Pawar faction is part of the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra.
The dispute over the true identity of the NCP before the Election Commission of India (ECI) was decided in the favour of the Ajit Pawar faction which submitted affidavits of 57 MLAs in its support, compared to Sharad Pawar’s 28 affidavits. Based on the legislative majority, ECI recognised the faction led by Ajit Pawar as the real NCP.
Sharad Pawar challenged this decision before the Supreme Court, which, on March 19, allowed the Ajit Pawar faction to use the party’s “clock symbol” for the upcoming elections, subject to certain conditions. The court mandated the inclusion of disclaimers in all advertisements, audio, and video clips, specifying the allocation of the symbol was subject to the final decision of the Supreme Court. It also took on record an undertaking of the Maharashtra deputy chief minister that his faction will not use the name or picture of his uncle and NCP founder, Sharad Pawar, in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls.
