Dama Seshadri Naidu, J.

The petitioners, working as daily wage drivers in various Panchayats of Kozhikode District, filed the writ petition impugning Exts.P10, P11 and P12 Government Orders, which mandate that recruitment to any post in the Panchayat shall be from and out of Ext.P13 rank list.

2. When the matter was taken up for admission, the learned Government Pleader raised a jurisdictional objection. According to him, the issue stood concluded by the judgment of a learned Division Bench of this Court in Santhosh Kumar v. Director of Panchayats (2013 (2) KLT 548), wherein it is held that any service dispute concerning the employees of Grama Panchayats shall be adjudicated upon by the Kerala Administrative Tribunal before recourse could be taken to Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

3. In response there to, the learned counsel for the petitioner, having initially taken a day's time to address the issue, today made elaborate submissions on the maintainability of the writ petition, strenuously contending that the denial of jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is an exception, and to meet that exception, there ought to have been ver