The Supreme Court today asked both Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to comply by its directions on use of symbols, party names and disclaimers in publicity material for the assembly and general elections.
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice KV Viswanathan, while disposing of the applications filed by both groups on non-compliance of its March 19 order, stated it is high time that leaders of both the factions should be somewhere else and not courts.
The court further directed the Sharad Pawar faction to sensitise party workers on using the name, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar and symbol man blowing turha, which is a traditional trumpet also known as tutari in the election campaigns. It also ordered the faction to ask their party workers, leaders, office bearers and lawmakers not to use the clock symbol in election advertisements, which has been allotted to the Ajit Pawar led bloc of the NCP.
Meanwhile, it also asked the Ajit Pawar group to issue bigger and prominent advertisements in newspapers saying allocation of clock symbol to it is sub-judice, as was directed in the apex court’s March 19 order. The top court bench declined to modify its directions issued in the March 19 order as sought by the Ajit Pawar-led faction, and said there appears to be no necessity.
Earlier on March 19, the Supreme Court permitted the Sharad Pawar faction to use Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar as its name for the Lok Sabha and assembly election. The apex court had directed the Ajit Pawar-led faction to issue a public notice in the newspapers in English, Hindi and Marathi editions notifying that the allocation of clock symbol is sub-judice before the top court and the respondent have been permitted to use the same subject to final outcome of these proceedings.