Supreme Court to hear plea on DUCSU polls on Tuesday

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) is scheduled to hold a hearing on Tuesday on a civil miscellaneous petition concerning the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) election.

Appellate Division Judge-in-Chamber 2, Justice Farah Mahbub, set the date and forwarded the matter to the apex court bench headed by the Chief Justice for hearing. "Fixed on September 3 and stay extended till that date," said the short order issued by the Chamber Judge Court.

The Appellate Division on September 1 stayed a High Court (HC) order that had suspended the DUCSU election until October 30. The SC passed the stay order within an hour of the High Court ruling. 

"Stay till filing of the Civil Miscellaneous Petition," noted Justice Farah Mahbub in her order on Sunday.

"The Chamber Judge Court will hold a further hearing on Tuesday. The High Court order will remain suspended until then, and there is no legal bar to continuing the electoral process," Dhaka University's counsel Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir said after the order on September 1.

Earlier, a High Court division bench of Justice Md Habibul Gani and Justice Sk Tahsin Ali had stayed the DUCSU election following a writ petition filed by BM Fahmida Alam, a candidate for liberation war and democratic movement affairs secretary from the Left Alliance panel.

Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua represented the petitioner while Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir appeared for Dhaka University. The petition challenged the candidacy of SM Farhad, general secretary candidate from the Oikyaboddho Shikkharthi Jote panel in the DUCSU election.