Appellate Division upholds DU Bangla department's directive to keep students' faces, ears uncovered

The Appellate Division has upheld the directive issued by the Bangla department of Dhaka University asking its students to keep their faces, including their ears, uncovered during exams and presentations.

It stayed the High Court (HC) order that had suspended the effectiveness of the DU Bangla department directive issued in December last year.

A bench led by acting Chief Justice Md Nuruzzaman passed the order on Monday (29 May) and further instructed the quick disposal of the pending writ filed in this regard within the next two months.

Previously, on 28 March, HC suspended the implementation of the notice requiring every student in the institute's Bangla department to keep their ears and mouth uncovered during examinations and presentations for a period of six months following a writ petition filed by lawyer Md Faizullah Faiz on behalf of three students on 19 December.

The DU VC, the head of the Bangla department, among others were made respondents to the writ. 

Legal experts argued that forcing DU students to comply with this directive was unnecessary. Also, the court sought an explanation as to why the notice should not be deemed illegal.

In response to the ruling, DU authorities moved an appeal for a stay over the HC order. 

Earlier on 11 December 2022, the Bangla Department of DU issued a notice, signed by its chair, instructing female students to keep their faces and ears visible during all examinations, including viva and presentations.

The notice also warned that if anyone violated the instruction, action would be taken against them as per the university regulation.