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(d) The remedy of election petition can be availed by the candidates and since petitioners are not allowed to contest, as a result of excessive reservation made in favour of Women, they cannot avail the remedy of election petition, as provided under Section 43 of the Act of 1994 as well as under Rule 80 of the Rules of 1994 and thus, the petitioners cannot be rendered remediless.

(e) The power of judicial review is the basic feature of the Indian Constitution and one of the ingredients of basic structure is the democratic nature of our republic and free and fair election forms the foundation of democracy and the Courts cannot remain mute spectator against such manifest arbitrariness of the State authorities and as such the bar contained under Article 243-O(a) of the Constitution of India, is not applicable and the writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, would be maintainable.

"11. Learned senior counsel for the appellant contended that in spite of Article 226 of the Constitution, the High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the writ petition in view of the bar contained in clause (b) of Article 243-O of the Constitution. It was argued that the aggrieved person will have to avail himself the remedy provided in Rule 7 and cannot approach the High Court in the first instance under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

12. We do not find any merit in this contention. We are of the view that a voter in a particular panchayat cannot be rendered remediless if he is aggrieved by the election of the Adhyaksha of the Panchayat. In His Holiness Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru v. State of Kerala and Anr. (1973) 4 SCC 225, a thirteen Judge Bench of this Court held that Article 368 of the Constitution does not enable the Parliament to alter the basic structure or framework of the Constitution. The basic structure of the Constitution could not be altered by any constitutional amendment and it was held in unambiguous terms that one of the basic features is the existence of constitutional system in judicial review. This view was followed by a Constitution Bench in Minerva Mills Ltd. and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors. (1980) 3 SCC 625. In L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India and Ors. (1997) 3 SCC 261, a seven Judge Bench of this Court has held that jurisdiction conferred upon the High Courts under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution and upon the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution is a part of the inviolable basic structure of our Constitution. While this jurisdiction cannot be ousted, other courts and tribunals may perform a supplementary role in discharging the powers conferred by Articles 226/227 and Article 32 of the Constitution of India. It has been held as under:

(37 of 65) [CW-2509/2020] In I.R. Coelho (dead) by Lrs. v. State of Tamil Nadu (2007) 2 SCC 1, a Bench of nine Judges has again held that power of judicial review is the part of the basic structure of the Constitution. The power to amend cannot be equated with the power to frame the Constitution.

13. It is thus clear that power of judicial review under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution is an essential feature of the Constitution which can neither be tinkered with nor eroded. Even the Constitution cannot be amended to erode the basic structure of the Constitution. Therefore, it cannot be said that the writ petition filed by respondent Nos. 6 to 9 under Article 226 of the Constitution is not maintainable. However, it is left to the discretion of the court exercising the power under Articles 226/227 to entertain the writ petition.

(43 of 65) [CW-2509/2020] 12.5 Art. 226, by its very nature and the object it seeks to achieve is wide enough to include within its sweep all contingencies abhorrent to law, good conscience, fair play, reasonableness, natural justice, basic human rights and to all those concepts which constitute the basic structure in our Constitution.

12.6 The democratic nature of our republic is undoubtedly one of the ingredients of basic structure. Whereas elections which are conducted in a free and fair manner form the foundation of democracy.