Hon’ble Dr. Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, C.J.—

The Issue

The issue which has been raised before the Court in this batch of writ petitions pertains to the constitutional validity of the Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Raj (Reservation and Allotment of Seats and Offices) (Tenth Amendment) Rules, 2015 (Rules of 2015). These Rules were published in the Government Gazette on 16 September 2015. The Rules amended the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Raj (Reservation and Allotment of Seats and Offices) Rules, 1994 (Rules of 1994). The amended Rules of 2015 are challenged on the ground that they are ultra vires Article 243D, Article 243K and the provisions of Section 11-A (5) and Section 12 (5) of the Uttar Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1947.

2. A preliminary objection has been raised to the maintainability of the writ petitions on the ground that Article 243-O(a) of the Constitution contains a bar on the validity of any law relating to the delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies, made or purporting to be made under Article 243K being called into question in any Court.

3. The constitutional challenge to the validity of the Rules of 2015 would