'Adhere to our directives or...': Supreme Court enforces disclaimer for Ajit Pawar's NCP faction while using 'clock' symbol

The court instructed the Ajit Pawar faction to submit a fresh undertaking that confirms their compliance with the court’s earlier orders, which required the publication of a public notice stating that the allocation of the ‘clock’ symbol is currently under judicial review. This notice should continue to be displayed, particularly during the ongoing state assembly elections.

“Please file a fresh undertaking confirming that you (the Ajit Pawar camp) will adhere to our directives until the elections conclude,” the bench stated. “Do not create an embarrassing situation for yourselves. Should we discover any deliberate violation of our order, we may initiate suo motu contempt proceedings.”

Previously, on March 19, the Supreme Court had permitted the Ajit faction to retain both the NCP name and the ‘clock’ symbol, but with the condition that they issue public notices in prominent English, Marathi, and Hindi newspapers to inform the public that the symbol's allocation was contingent upon the outcome of the ongoing legal proceedings.

The controversy originates from a significant split within the NCP that occurred in July of last year. Co-founded by Sharad Pawar in June 1999 after his expulsion from the Congress, the party fractured into two factions, with Sharad and Ajit Pawar each leading their respective groups.

The original united NCP was part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), a three-party opposition alliance alongside the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT). Following the split, the Ajit faction aligned with the ruling coalition, which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.

In February of this year, the Election Commission of India (ECI) recognized the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the ‘real NCP’ and granted it the original ‘clock’ symbol. This recognition has since been challenged by Sharad Pawar in the Supreme Court.