High Court's Order On Behalf Of Zayed Khan Stayed

The stay order issued by the High Court, following the decision of canceling the candidature of film actor Zayed Khan and declaring Nipun Akter as the General Secretary, has been stayed till February 13.

Justice Obaidul Hasan of the Appellate Division Chamber Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of Nipun's appeal till February 13 and fixed the matter for hearing in the full bench of the Appellate Division on that day. Until then, no one will be able to hold this position (Status quo).

Barrister Rokon Uddin Mahmud and Barrister Mostafizur Rahman appeared for Nipun in the court. Lawyers Yusuf Hossain Humayun, Ahsanul Karim and Nahid Sultana Juthi appeared for Zayed Khan.

Earlier, a High Court bench of Justice Mamnoon Rahman and Justice Khandaker Diliruzzaman on Monday stayed the decision of the Election Appeal Board to reject Zayed Khan's candidature. The High Court also stayed the validity of the letter sent by the Department of Social Services to the Electoral Appeal Board to decide on Nipun's allegations. Following the order, Zayed Khan's lawyer said, "Zayed Khan will be able to continue his activities as the General Secretary of the Artists' Association and no one will be able to obstruct his work."

Chief Election Commissioner Peerzada Shahidul Harun announced the results at the FDC on Saturday morning after the voting for the 2022-24 term of the Film Artists' Association was held on January 28. Ilias Kanchan defeated Misa Sawdagar, who was the president of Film Artists' Association for the last two terms, by 43 votes. Nipun Akter, the candidate of Ilias Kanchan's panel, lost to Zayed Khan by 13 votes.

However, Nipun filed a petition in the Electoral Appeal Board seeking cancellation of the posts of Zayed Khan and Chunnu, a member of the executive council, alleging that they had bought votes with money. The Department of Social Services sent a letter to the Electoral Appeal Board to decide on the appeal. After that, the Electoral Appellate Board of the Film Artists Association sat in a meeting on Zayed Khan and Chunnu. At the end of the meeting, the board's chief filmmaker Sohanur Rahman rejected the candidature of Sohan Zayed and declared Nipun as the uncontested winner for the post of general secretary. The next day, the winners of Ilias Kanchan and Nipun Parishad were sworn in.