06 November,2024 05:55 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar. File Pic
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Ajit Pawar-led faction to publish a disclaimer in newspapers, including Marathi ones with 36 hours, that the issue of allocation of "clock" symbol was pending in court, reported the PTI.
The disclaimer was directed to be published in the dailies within 36 hours of the court order in clock symbol case.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing the Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions over the purported use and misuse of the "clock" symbol when it suggested both the groups to focus on voters instead, as per the PTI.
"Don't waste your energy in courts. You both should go and be with the voters to woo them," the bench told the counsel representing the factions.
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It asked senior advocate Balbir Singh, appearing for the Ajit Pawar faction, to make a prominent disclaimer in the newspapers including Marathi ones within 36 hours.
Singh claimed the candidates had filed their nominations and the stage of withdrawal of names was over but the Sharad Pawar faction was attempting to disrupt the entire election process.
On the contrary, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Sharad Pawar faction, contended that the "clock" symbol had been associated with the veteran leader for the last 30 years and the opposing side was trying to misuse it.
Singhvi, therefore, sought a direction to the Ajit Pawar-led group to seek a new symbol.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had on October 24, directed Ajit Pawar-led NCP to use the clock symbol in its publicity material in the upcoming Maharashtra assembly election 2024 with a disclaimer stating that the matter over the symbol was sub-judice before the Supreme Court, reported the PTI.
The top court on March 19 and April 4 had directed NCP to issue a public notice in the newspapers in English, Hindi and Marathi editions notifying that the allocation of the clock symbol was sub-judice, according to the PTI.
The apex court had further said the party was permitted to use the symbol subject to the case's final outcome.
(with PTI inputs)
