The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted permission to the faction led by Sharad Pawar to use the name “Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar” for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as well as Maharashtra Assembly elections later this year.

Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan presiding over the bench also sanctioned the use of the “man blowing turha” symbol (a traditional trumpet known as tutari) for the party.

This ruling stemmed from a petition filed by the Sharad Pawar faction seeking to prohibit the Ajit Pawar camp from using the “clock” symbol citing its potential to disrupt fair competition. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), founded by Sharad Pawar, had used the “clock” symbol before its split, which is now under the Ajit Pawar faction”s control.

The bench instructed both the Election Commission of India and State Election Commission (SEC) to officially recognise the “Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar” and its designated symbol “man blowing turha.” It directed the EC to refrain from allocating the “man blowing turha” symbol to any other party or independent candidate.

While allowing the use of the clock symbol, the bench mandated the Ajit Pawar-led faction to issue public notices in newspapers in English, Hindi, and Marathi, clarifying that the “clock” symbol is subject to legal proceedings and its usage is contingent upon adjudication. The same declaration was ordered to be made in all election- audio-visual advertisements and promotional materials like banners and posters.

The Ajit Pawar camp has been given four weeks to respond to the plea filed by the Sharad Pawar group against the Election Commission”s February 6 decision, which recognised the former as the real Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The Supreme Court, in a previous ruling on February 19, had upheld the Election Commission”s decision to designate “Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar” as the official party name for the Sharad Pawar faction until further directives were issued.

The court has also asked the Ajit Pawar camp to file its response to the Sharad Pawar group”s plea against the order of the Election Commission recognising the former as the real NCP. The response has to be filed within a month.

In July last year, Ajit Pawar, along with eight NCP MLAs, joined the Eknath Shinde government resulting in a split in the NCP. In a viral video earlier this week, Ajit”s younger brother Srinivas Pawar criticised him for leaving the side of Sharad Pawar.

“Like every medicine has an expiry date, every relation too has an expiry date. Consider it as an expiry and move ahead in life. No one should think someone is weak because they have aged,” he said.