( 1 ) THESE five petitions have been referred to the Full Bench for deciding the controversial question whether it is proper that the High Court should exercise its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution in election matters, at intermediate stages i. e. , to interfere with individual orders, passed during the process of election and thus impede that process, or, should it decline to exercise that power and leave the parties to their remedy of an election petition to be presented after the election is over.

( 2 ) THE facts are that the petitioners had filed their nomination papers for being chosen as Panchas at the recent Gram-Pan-chayat elections. Their nomination papers were rejected during scrutiny on the objection that they had not paid all taxes due against them to the Gram-Panchayats for the last financial year and were, therefore, disqualified for being a Panch, Sarpanch or an Up-Sarpanch of a gram-Panchayat under Section 17 (1) (i) of the Act. These petitions are filed for issuing writs in the nature of certiorari for quashing the orders of the Returning officers on the ground of improper rejection of nomination papers and for issuing writs in the n