On Wednesday, the Supreme Court appeared to act tough against the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, reprimanding it for using photos and videos of Sharad Pawar in its campaign material for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls – a violation of an order it had passed earlier this year.
In reality, however, the court condoned the party’s violations of its order by failing to impose any penalty on it. It is also yet take a decision on the crucial question of whether the Ajit Pawar-led NCP should be allowed to use the clock symbol – the official symbol of the Nationalist Congress Party, which was founded by Sharad Pawar in 1999, and which split into two factions in July 2023.
The case in the Supreme Court stems from a petition filed by the Sharad Pawar-led NCP in March, challenging the Election Commission’s decision to award the Ajit Pawar faction the right to the party name and symbol.
The court’s inaction in the matter allowed the breakaway faction to use the NCP’s symbol and Sharad Pawar’s likeness for the Lok Sabha elections held in April and May.
With the next hearing in the case scheduled for November 19 – a day before voting in Maharashtra – the court’s failure to resolve the matter essentially amounts to a fait accompli in favour of the Ajit Pawar faction.
Background
In July 2023, Ajit Pawar, along with several NCP MLAs, joined Maharashtra’s coalition government, which included the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Ajit Pawar was appointed deputy chief minister. This move split the Nationalist Congress Party, with one faction backing Ajit Pawar and the other supporting Sharad Pawar.
In February, the Election Commission recognised the Ajit Pawar-led group as the official NCP and assigned it the clock symbol. The Sharad Pawar-led faction was given the name “Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar” and the “man blowing a turha” symbol for the Lok Sabha elections.
Supreme Court involvement
The Sharad Pawar faction challenged the Election Commission’s decision in the Supreme Court. The group requested that the Ajit Pawar faction, in the interim, be barred from using the NCP’s name and symbol. It also sought an alternative name and symbol for the Ajit Pawar-led outfit.
In March, a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan denied interim relief to the Sharad Pawar faction. The Ajit Pawar-led group was allowed to use the clock symbol for the Lok Sabha elections. However, the court directed the faction to issue public notices in English, Hindi and Marathi newspapers. These notices had to clarify that the use of the clock symbol was sub-judice. The faction was also instructed to display similar disclaimers on campaign materials.
The bench prohibited the Ajit Pawar group from using Sharad Pawar’s name and images in its campaign. In April, the court reprimanded the Ajit Pawar faction for not complying with its orders on disclaimers. The court asked the group to place the notices in more prominent spaces in newspapers.
Maharashtra held Lok Sabha elections between April 19 and May 20.
In October, the Sharad Pawar-led faction again approached the Supreme Court. It sought to prevent the Ajit Pawar faction from using the clock symbol in the Assembly elections, arguing that it would confuse voters.
However, the court did not change the status quo. It reiterated that the Ajit Pawar faction should use disclaimers in its campaign, clarifying that the matter was sub-judice.
Only on November 6, though, did the Ajit Pawar group commit to publishing such disclaimers within 36 hours.
Despite repeated violations of court orders, the Supreme Court did not invoke its contempt powers against the Ajit Pawar-led faction. On Wednesday, the court did not penalise the group for using Sharad Pawar’s likeness in its campaign, despite having earlier barred it.
It merely reiterated its earlier order: that the Ajit Pawar-led NCP was barred from using Sharad Pawar’s photos and videos in its campaign material for the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Election Commission Order
The Election Commission’s decision to allocate the party name and symbol to the Ajit Pawar-led group has faced criticism. Legal experts argue that the order relied solely on the legislative majority test. Ajit Pawar commanded the support of 51 of the 81 NCP MLAs.
Disqualification petitions were pending against many of these 51 MLAs before the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker. The speaker only dismissed these petitions in February, after the Election Commission had made its decision.
A Supreme Court Constitution bench, in a 2023 judgement following the Maharashtra political crisis, held that the legislative majority test could be used by the Election Commission. However, the court said this test should not be the primary or exclusive method to decide intra-party disputes. The commission’s reliance on this test without clear justification raised questions.
The Supreme Court questioned the Election Commission’s reliance on the legislative majority test during the case’s hearings. The court said that such rulings could encourage defections.
