High Court Suspends DUCSU Election

The High Court has ordered the suspension of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) and hall union elections until October 30, 2025. The order was issued on Monday, September 1, during a hearing on a writ petition before a High Court bench led by Justice Habibul Gani and Justice Sheikh Tahsin Ali.

According to the previously announced schedule, the DUCSU central committee and hall union elections were set to take place on September 9, 2025. However, the High Court issued the suspension order following a writ petition challenging the candidacy of SM Farhad, the general secretary (GS) candidate from a panel supported by the United Students’ Alliance and Chhatra Shibir. Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua represented the petitioner, while Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir represented Dhaka University.

Advocate Shishir Manir, representing Dhaka University, informed journalists that the university does not consider the suspension order beneficial. He stated, “Dhaka University has already instructed its lawyers to take legal steps regarding this matter. We hope you will see action within today or tomorrow.” DUCSU election returning officer Professor Dr. Golam Rabbani told The Daily Campus, “We learned through media sources that the High Court has suspended this election. However, we are not yet formally aware of the basis for the suspension.” He added that the election commission would comment after receiving official details. Attempts to contact Chief Returning Officer Professor Dr. Mohammad Jasim Uddin by phone were unsuccessful, as he did not respond.

This election was considered the first major electoral event in Bangladesh’s student politics following the 2024 student-people’s uprising. The previous DUCSU election, held in 2019, saw Nurul Haque Nur elected as vice-president, Golam Rabbani as general secretary, and Saddam Hossain as assistant general secretary. For this election, 471 candidates, including 62 women, were prepared to contest for 28 posts, with the highest number of candidates (217) vying for member positions.

The High Court’s order has also halted the election process and the finalization of the voter list. The court has scheduled a final hearing on SM Farhad’s candidacy for Tuesday, September 2, after which further directives may be issued.