“The impossibility of holding the election is not a factor against the Election Commission. The maxim of law „impotentia excusat legem‟ is intimately connected with another maxim of „law lex non cogit ad impossibilia‟. „Impotentia excusat legem‟ is that when there is a or invincible to the necessary disability perform mandatory part of the law that impotentia excuses. The law does not compel one to do that which one cannot possibly perform. ‘Where the law creates a duty or charge, and the party is disabled to perform it, without any default in him, and has no remedy over it, there the law will in general excuse him.’ Therefore, when it appears that the performance of the formalities prescribed by a statute has been rendered impossible by circumstances over which the persons interested had no control, like an act of God, the circumstances will be taken as a valid excuse. Where the act of God prevents the compliance with the words of a statute, the statutory provision is not denuded of its mandatory character because of supervening impossibility caused by the act of God. (See Broom‟s Legal Maxims, 10th Edn., at pp. 1962-63 and Craies on Statute Law, 6th Edn., p. 268.) These aspects were highlighted by this Court in Special Reference No. 1 of 1974, (1974) 2 SCC 33 = (1975) 1 SCR 504. Situations may be created by interested persons to see that elections do not take place and the caretaker Government
