High Court suspends DUCSU polls until Oct 30, orders probe into GS candidate Farhad

The High Court has suspended the Dhaka Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election for two months.

In addition, it has ordered the university’s election tribunal to conduct an investigation into allegations against general secretary candidate SM Farhad.

Farhad was nominated by Oikyaboddho Shikkharthi Jote and supported by Islami Chhatra Shibir, for the post of general secretary.

The DUCSU polls were scheduled for Sept 9 before Monday’s court order.

The High Court bench led by Justice Md Habibul Gani issued the order on Monday.

Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua represented the petitioner in court, while Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir represented Farhad.

The petition was filed on Sunday asking how Farhad could stand as a nominee of the Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed Oikyaboddho Shikkharthi Jote when he had allegedly been a member of a “Chhatra League committee” before Aug 5.

The petition challenging Farhad’s nomination was filed by BM Fahmida Alam, a candidate for the Liberation War and Democratic Movement Affairs Committee nominated by the left alliance.

At a press conference, Fahmida had said: “Farhad has taken a stance against the Liberation War of Bangladesh and was actively involved with the banned Chhatra League. We have not found any evidence that he resigned.”

She said that Farhad’s actions were “contradictory” with the DUCSU Constitution and said: “They put up pictures of Razakars at the TSC. The attempt to establish [these people] as national heroes contradicts the main goal and objective of DUCSU.”

She claimed that her petition was not intended to “spoil” the DUCSU elections, and said that since filing the petition, she had been subjected to bullying from various “bot accounts”.

After the case was filed on Monday, Farhad wrote in a Facebook post: “I congratulate the leader of the left alliance who filed the writ challenging my candidacy for her initiative.

“Your legal initiative is a better approach than the long-term propaganda conducted against me by various parties through editing of pictures and fabrication of videos. Overcoming obstacles, conspiracies and evil tricks is part of the regular path we walk. We will not stop on this journey, God willing.”