By the Court.—These three writ petitions in the nature of public interest litigation have been filed, one by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) through its organising Secretary of the U.P. Chapter, the other by one Sri Abdul Jabbar an advocate of the Civil Court Mathura and the third by an organisation known as U.P. State Coordination Committee of NAPM praying for declaring Rule 4(2) of the Uttar Pradesh Municipalities (Election of Members, Corporators, Chairmen and Mayors) Rules, 2010 as ultra vires the provisions of the Constitution and also ultra vires to the provisions of the U.P. Municipalities Act, 1916 and the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporations Act, 1959.

2. We may at the outset quote Rule 4 of the said rules in order to project an understanding of the issue that has been raised on behalf of the petitioners.

“Rule 4. (1) The superintendence, direction and control of the conduct of the election of the corporators, members, chairmen and mayors or municipalities conducted in accordance with provisions of these rules.

(2) The election to the post of members, corporator chairperson and mayor of the municipalities shall not be contested on the basis of politic