Shawdesh desk:

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a High Court order that had allowed publishing house Adarsha Prakash to participate in the ongoing Ekushey Book Fair.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order allowing a petition filed by Bangla Academy seeking a stay on the High Court order.

The other judges of the bench are Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Jahangir Hossain.

On February 8, the High Court directed the Bangla Academy to allocate a stall for Adarsha on the condition that it would not showcase books written by three writers, about which the Bangla Academy raised questions, at the fair.

The three books, against which the Bangla Academy raised objections, are Bangalir Mediocritir Sandhane written by Faham Abdus Salam, Unnayan Bibhram, written by Zia Hasan and Apratirodhya Unnayaner Abhabaniya Kathamala by Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb.

Bangla Academy declined to allocate a stall, claiming that the books in question defamed the prime minister, Supreme Court judges, and the judiciary, as well as distorted the history of the War of Independence and Bangladesh’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s historic speech on March 7, 1971.

Adarsha challenged the legality of the Bangla Academy’s decision, stating that the denial of the allocation of a stall for the publishing house was a clear violation of citizens’ fundamental rights to freedom of expression and thought.

On February 13, Bangla Academy appealed to the Appellate Division seeking a stay on the High Court’s February 8 order.