Desk Report,
The Appellate Division has upheld the order of the Chamber Court suspending the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) elections. The stay order issued by the Chamber Court will continue till October 30.
The seven-member Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Refat Ahmed gave the order on Wednesday. The order was issued after hearing the application filed by the Dhaka University authorities seeking a stay on the High Court order.
Dhaka University lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir said that as a result of the Appellate Division’s order, there is no longer any legal obstacle to holding the DUCSU elections on September 9. The High Court, following the initial hearing of a writ, had last Monday suspended the DUCSU election process and the final voter list process until October 30. The DUCSU elections scheduled for September 9 were stalled as a result of this order.
The Dhaka University authorities applied to the Chamber Court of the Appellate Division on the same day, seeking a stay on the High Court’s order. In view of this, the Chamber Court stayed the High Court order until a regular civil miscellaneous petition was filed. As a result, the election was opened.
On Tuesday, the Dhaka University authorities filed a civil miscellaneous petition in the court, which was heard in the Chamber Court.
On Tuesday, the Chamber Court scheduled the Dhaka University authorities’ application for hearing in the full bench of the Appellate Division today. The High Court’s order extended the stay order until this time. In continuation of this, the Dhaka University authorities’ application was listed as number one on the agenda for hearing in the Appellate Division today.
Lawyer Mohammad Shishir Monir heard the case in the court on behalf of Dhaka University. He was accompanied by lawyer Mohammad Saddam Hossain.
On the other hand, senior lawyer Ahsanul Karim and lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua were present on behalf of the writ petitioner.
In addition, senior lawyer Imran A Siddique heard on behalf of SM Farhad, a candidate for the post of General Secretary (GS) of DUCSU.
According to the schedule, voting in the DUCSU elections is on September 9. SM Farhad has been nominated as a candidate for the post of General Secretary (GS) of DUCSU from the Chhatra Shibir-supported panel ‘Unified Students’ Alliance’ in the election. He is the president of the Dhaka University branch of Chhatra Shibir. On August 28, BM Fahmida Alam, the candidate for the Liberation War and Democratic Movement Affairs of the ‘Invincible 71’, ‘Indomitable 24’ panel nominated by the Left Alliance in the DUCSU elections, filed a writ petition regarding the validity of Farhad’s candidacy, alleging that he was associated with the banned organization Chhatra League.
The High Court issued a rule and order after conducting a preliminary hearing on the writ petition on Monday. The rule sought to know why the validity of SM Farhad’s candidacy for the GS post in the final candidate list in violation of the DUCSU constitution will not be declared as beyond legal authority.
The High Court directed the writ petitioner to file an application with information and evidence regarding the allegations of SM Farhad’s involvement in the banned organization Chhatra League within 15 days.
The order said that the tribunal will receive the complaint and investigate. The writ petitioner will hear the statements of Farhad and other reliable people. It will submit a report to the court on October 21.
Chhatra Dal, Islami Chhatra Shibir and Ganatantrik Chhatra Sansad have already given separate panels to participate in the DUCSU elections. The leftist student organizations have given two panels. The total number of panels is about 10, including full and partial ones.
This time, a total of 471 candidates are contesting against 28 DUCSU posts. Of these, 62 are female candidates. The highest number of 217 candidates are contesting for the membership post. A total of 1,035 candidates are in the final race for 13 positions in 18 halls.
