SC stays HC order on DUCSU polls till Tuesday morning

In a dramatic turn of events, the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division on Monday stayed till Tuesday morning the High Court order that had suspended the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) elections until October 30.

Appellate Division chamber judge Justice Farah Mahbub passed the stay order. 

The stay order came less than an hour after the High Court bench of Justice Habibul Gani and Justice SK Tahsin Ali directed a halt to the polls while hearing a writ petition challenging the transparency of the election process.

Dhaka University’s counsel, Shishir Manir, said he moved the Appellate Division immediately after the High Court’s directive.

Earlier, the High Court had asked the university authorities to submit detailed information on the nomination, selection, and finalisation of candidates, as well as the preparations for the election.

The sudden intervention of the apex court has kept alive the original schedule, with voting still set for September 9. The swift reversal underscores the high political stakes surrounding DUCSU, often regarded as a training ground for the country’s future political leaders.

Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua represented the petitioner in the case, while lawyer Shishir Manir appeared on behalf of Dhaka University.

Analysts say the legal back-and-forth reflects wider tensions over the credibility of electoral processes in Bangladesh, with DUCSU once again emerging as a mirror of national political dynamics.