The Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has moved the Supreme Court claiming that the Ajit Pawar faction has not complied with the apex court’s direction to publish disclaimers in all their advertisements that the use of clock symbol by them is a sub-judice matter.
The Supreme Court asked the Ajit Pawar group to furnish how many advertisements were published after the court order on March 19, after an urgent mentioning by the Sharad Pawar group. The bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice KV Viswanahan warned the Ajit Pawar group that a serious view will be taken if the court’s order was defied. The bench remarked that the order was in a simple language and therefore there was no room for any double interpretation.
During the mentioning today, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Sharad Pawar group, contended that even though on March 19, a detailed order was passed, there is non-compliance on the part of Ajit Pawar faction, who was represented by Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi. The Sharad Pawar faction’s counsel also informed the bench that an application had been moved to that effect.
He submitted that an application for relaxing this order had been moved by the other side. Senior Advocate Abhisekh Manu Singhvi fervently protested against it and asserted that it means that the other side is asking for a review of the court’s order. He further noted that the elections are fast approaching and in the middle of the elections it cannot be changed like this.
Subsequently, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Ajit Pawar faction took the bench through certain advertisements having the required disclaimers. He argued that it would be incorrect to claim that the Supreme Court had decided the matter. He then requested a modification to the last line of the previous order which stated, a declaration that the matter was sub-judice was to be incorporated in every pamphlet, advertisement, audio or video clips to be issued on behalf of the respondents.
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Singhvi countered that in no newspaper this aforesaid disclaimer is given and hence they are asking for relaxation, adding that lordship’s order is made a mockery of.
Consecutively, Justice Kant clarified that the court is confident with the order passed and that has to be complied with. The bench stated that nobody has a right to deliberately misconstrue the court’s order and listed the application for tomorrow.
The Supreme Court on March 19 had 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 top court and the respondents have been permitted to use the same subject to the final outcome of these proceedings.