Hold DUCSU polls in six months: HC

The High Court Division on Wednesday directed the government and the Dhaka University authorities to take steps for holding the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union elections at a ‘suitable time, preferably within six months’.
A bench of Justice Syed Muhammad Dastagir Husain and Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan also directed the home ministry to maintain law and order during the DUCSU elections.
In the related observations, said the court that the legitimate expectations of DU students to cast their votes has been violated by not holding DUCSU elections over 27 years in a row since 1990 though the Dhaka University Order 1973 requires holding the elections every year.
The court also said that the Dhaka University senate cannot be formed properly without five elected representatives of DUCSU.
The DU senate has been formed without the five DUSCU representatives for long, it said. 
The court gave the land mark verdict after hearing a writ petition, 25 DU students had jointly filed in April 2012.
Petitioners’ lawyer Manzill Murshid told reporters that the verdict would help restore the DU students’ democratic right to vote.
Later, deputy attorney general Amit Talukder told New Age that the DU authorities gave him no instruction to appeal against the verdict.
Asked for comments, vice-chancellor Md Akhtaruzzaman said he would do needful after receiving the verdict’s copy. 
The writ petition was filed in the backdrop of universal demand of former and current DU students for holding the DUCSU elections.
On March 4, president Abdul Hamid while addressing DU’s 50th convocation as its chancellor described DUCSU election as a essential for the creation of new leadership as well as strengthening democracy.
DUCSU election should be held immediately, otherwise a leadership vacuum would be created in the country in future, he warned.
Since dissolving the last elected DUCSU committee on May 28, 1998, DU authorities promised time and again that the DUCSU elections would be held soon.
Left leaning student organization, Samajtantrik Chhatra Front welcomed the verdict in a statement. 
It demanded holding the long over-due students’ body elections in all the universities and colleges.
The statement was issued jointly by SCF president Imran Habib Ruman and general secretary Nasir Uddin Prince.
Writ petition was jointly filed by Ali Asif Shaown, Nadim Mahmud, Ehsanul Hasan, Fahim Hossain Majnun, Md Alam Bhuiyan, Ashikur Rahman, Riadul Islam, Shoayeb Rana, Rejauddoula Prodhan, Ruhul Amin, Soumitra Das Shuvra, Abdullah Al Hossain, Abdur Rahim, Firdul Islam, Enamul Haque, Saidur Rahman, Mostafizur Rahman, Rasel Kabir, Abu Musa, Nasir Uddin, Humayun Kabir Akash, Sabiit Ibne Anis Khan, Amir Khasru and Raihan Raju, all DU students in 2012.  

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net