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Dhaka, June 1, 2025 – In various anti-discrimination movement cases ranging from quota reform to various other cases, the administration had sought permission to arrest several student leaders based on allegations filed by the Dhaka University authorities. But the High Court issued a stay order against the decision to seek permission to arrest. The Appellate Division has upheld the stay order for now.
A four-judge bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Obaidul Hasan issued the order on Sunday (June 1). As a result, it will not be possible to issue arrest warrants against Dhaka University students in this case for the time being.
In an order last April, the High Court had stayed the decision of the university registrar for one month on the letter sent by the university registrar seeking permission to arrest five student leaders involved in the anti-discrimination movement based on allegations filed against them. At the same time, the High Court also issued a rule asking why such a move by the university would not be illegal.
The state party appealed to the Appellate Division against the High Court order, which came up for hearing in the Appellate Division today. The state's lawyer argued that such a step is necessary to maintain discipline at the university and bring the ongoing movement under control. However, the Appellate Division decided to uphold the High Court's stay order.
According to sources related to the court, earlier, the Dhaka University authorities filed a total of 7 cases against the leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement and ordinary students. These cases mainly involved allegations of vandalism, beatings and other disciplinary violations. The university administration then allowed the police to investigate these cases and started the process of applying to the court to issue arrest warrants against the accused students.
However, the protesting students have been claiming from the beginning that their movement was peaceful and the allegations against them were motivated. They alleged that the university administration was resorting to lawsuits and attacks to suppress the movement.
As a result of this order, some relief has returned among the students associated with the anti-discrimination movement. They feel that this is an initial victory against the injustice done to them. However, the legal process will continue until the final verdict in the case is issued.
