SC clears way for election to BAJUS

FE REPORT

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for holding the election to the executive committee of Bangladesh Jewellers' Samity scheduled to be held today (Friday).

The apex court stayed an interim order passed by the High Court, staying for two months the election to the executive committee of BAJUS.

A seven-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by chief justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, passed the order after hearing an appeal petition filed by Bangladesh Jewellers Samity's president Ganga Charan Malakar and its secretary Dilip Kumar Agarwala, seeking stay on the High Court's order.

Additional attorney general Murad Reza in person and Advocate AM Amin Uddin appeared in the court on behalf of the petitioners while barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, advocate Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury and advocate Md Imam Hasan stood for the opposition party.

Earlier on November 4, the High Court stayed for two months the election to the executive committee of Bangladesh Jewellers Samity.

The High Court bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Md Mahmud Hassan Talukder passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed in this regard by Bipul Ghosh Shankar, one of the members of BAJUS and also a candidate in the election.

The court also issued a rule, asking the respondents to explain within one week as to why the decision and award dated October 30, 2019 passed by the Arbitration Tribunal of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) rejecting a petition seeking exclusion of 114 controversial voters from the voter-list should not be declared illegal.

The commerce secretary and 128 other respondents have to comply with the rule within one week.

Advocate Md Imam Hasan said the election commission published a primary list of 666 voters on September 12, 2019. Later on September 18, a number of voters made objections to the election appeal board over the voter list saying that 114 illegal voters were on the list.

But the election commission on September 29 published the final voter list without taking cognizance of the objections. Then the aggrieved party on October 5 filed a petition with the Arbitration Tribunal of FBCCI for remedy which fixed October 20 to pass an order over the matter.

Due to a delay in publishing the order by the Arbitration Tribunal, Bipul Ghosh Shankar, one of the members of the association, filed a writ petition with the High Court on October 27, challenging the inaction of the Arbitration Tribunal of FBCCI in passing order over the petition for Bangladesh Jewellers' Samity election.

Meanwhile, the Arbitration Tribunal of FBCCI on October 30 passed an order, rejecting the petition of the aggrieved party of Bangladesh Jewellers' Samity.

Then the writ petitioner on November 03 filed a supplementary petition with the High Court, challenging the order of the Arbitration Tribunal of FBCCI. After hearing on the petition, the High Court on November 04 passed the order, staying the election for two months.