HC questions EC\\\'s move to collect info on U-18 citizens

The High Court (HC) has questioned the Election Commission's initiative to gather information on under 18 (U-18) citizens. An HC bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Ashraful Kamal issued a rule on Tuesday after initial hearing on a petition. It asked why the move would not be declared illegal and ordered the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commission secretary to come up with explanations by ten days. On July 24, Supreme Court lawyer ZI Khan Panna filed a petition challenging the move. An Election Commission (EC) panel advocated collecting information of citizens aged below 18 years. The ‘evaluation committee’, which went through practices of 80 countries, was formed after the EC failed to reach on a decision on the issue in June. The four-member panel filed its finding last week, which was also discussed at an EC meeting. Amid differing opinions of election commissioners, the EC agreed to go for collection of information of under-18 citizens, according to a news agency.
- mbz