The Appellate Division on Monday cleared the way for the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union elections on September 9 by overturning a High Court order that stayed the elections.
The apex court order came just 30 minutes after the High Court order that prompted student protests on the campus.
The High Court passed the order staying the DUCSU elections, scheduled for September 9, responding to a writ petition.
General students and candidates from different panels and their supporters burst into protests on the Dhaka University campus in the afternoon, expressing concerns that some quarters were hatching conspiracy to foil the DUCSU polls at a time when the campus turned festive ahead of the overdue elections.
The protesting candidates from different panels, including those of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and left-leaning Pratirodh Parshad, blamed the university authorities’ failure to check loopholes in the election process and to provide scope for controversies to foil the polls.
Initially, the High Court halted the polls following a writ petition challenging the candidacy of SM Farhad, the general secretary candidate of the Islami Chhatra Shibir panel, accusing him of past affiliation with the now-banned Bangladesh Chhatra League as of its portfolio on November 27, 2022.
Petitioner BM Fahmida Alam, a candidate from a leftist panel, Aparajeyo 71 – Adamya 24, submitted BCL documents dated November 27, 2022, listing Farhad as joint general secretary of BCL’s Dhaka University Social Welfare and Research Institute unit.
The document carried the signatures of former BCL president Sanjit Chandra Das and general secretary Saddam Hossain.
In a rare move, Chamber Judge Justice Farah Mahbub stayed the High Court order in response to a handwritten petition from Dhaka University’s lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir.
The lawyer filed the petition minutes after 4:30pm, about 45 minutes after the High Court’s ruling at about 3:50pm.
The petitioner’s lawyer was not present during the hearing before the chamber judge’s court.Â
The chamber judge’s order allows the DU authorities to move forward with the election, while also giving them time to formally seek permission to appeal against the High Court’s stay order.
As the stay order on the DUCSU polls spread, Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal’s panel, Islami Chhatra Shibir’s panel ‘Oikyabaddha Shikkharthi Jote’, left student organisations and Sheikh Tasnim Afroz Emi and Meghmallar Bose-led panel ‘Pratirodh Parshad’, Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad’s panel ‘Baishamyabirodhi Shikkharthi Sangsad’, former Student Against Discrimination leader Umama Fatema-led panel ‘Satantra Shikkharthi Oikya’ and Bangladesh Chhatra Odhikar Parishad’s panel ‘DUCSU for Change’ brought out processions and held press briefings separately on the campus protesting at the court’s order that halted the electoral activities until October 21.
Three left student organisations’ Aparajeyo 71 - Adammya 24 panel at a press briefing on the campus said that the writ petition was not filed to suspend the DUCSU elections,
rather it was filed challenging the legality of a candidate.Â
Earlier, the High Court bench of Justice Md Habibul Gani and Justice Sk Tahsin Ali had directed the DUCSU election tribunal to investigate Farhad’s eligibility based on Fahmida’s complaint and report back by October 21.
The court also issued a rule asking why Farhad’s candidacy should not be cancelled and why he should not be barred from contesting or voting.
The next HC hearing is scheduled for October 30.
During Monday’s hearing, the High Court questioned lawyers on both sides about the relevance of political tagging in student politics.
‘Every student has the right to participate,’ the bench observed.
DU lawyer Shishir Manir responded that several candidacies had already been disqualified due to affiliations with BCL, which was banned following alleged atrocities during the July 2024 student-led uprising that toppled the Awami League regime.
Lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua, representing Fahmida, pointed out that the candidacy of at least 28 aspirants had been cancelled for various reasons. Of them, two were cancelled for their involvement with Bangladesh Chhatra League.
Yet, Farhad’s name remained, despite similar political ties, he argued.
In defense, Shishir Manir said that Farhad was not affiliated with BCL and he served as the general secretary of Shibir’s DU unit during the July uprising, and later became its president.
He submitted Farhad’s social media posts and photos supporting the July movement to counter claims of BCL involvement.
On the campus, DUCSU candidate Abu Muzahid Akash began a hunger strike at the Anti-Terrorism Raju memorial sculpture, wearing a shroud immediately after the HC order.
At around 4:45pm, as the news of the chamber court’s stay order reached the campus, students who had been demonstrating in front of the VC’s residence expressed joy, flashing victory signs and chanting slogans.
The protest was led by DUCSU vice-president candidate Abdul Kader from the Boishommo Birodhi Sikkharthi Sangsad panel, later joined by general secretary candidate Abu Baker Majumder of the same panel.
Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal’s vice president candidate Abidul Islam said that the DUCSU election must be held on September 9.
