Lookout Notice: Absconding offenders are hunted down by opening Lookout Notices (LOCs), sometimes known as Lookout Circulars (LOCs). In addition, it is essential to keep track of those who may be requested by law enforcement.
Indian citizens’ LOCs are published by guidelines provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The following four principles underlie the MHA’s basic rules for publishing LOCs about Indian citizens:
- It is required that an officer not below the rank of Deputy Secretary to the Government of India/Joint Secretary in State Government/Supervisory Police Officer concerned at the district level approve a request to grant a LOC.
- Watchful Only in the form prepared by the Home Ministry can a notice be issued at all immigration checkpoints against any Indian.
- The notice issuing agency must provide the accused person’s entire identity in a predetermined format. More than three identity factors other than the accused’s name are required to issue a LOC.
- For one year after the date of allotment, the General Lookout Notice is valid. However, the originating agency has the option to extend the term of notice before the year is up.
Immigration officers have been given the authority to suspend the LOC if no request for an extension is received within the statutory one-year timeframe. Lookout Notices issued by the Court and Interpol do not expire within a year.
The misuse of Lookout Notice
Lookout Notice has also been abused in many instances, unfortunately. According to an investigation, even the individual who receives a Lookout Notice is not aware of it. When a person gets a Lookout Notice, they may not expect it.
After being detained or arrested by immigration authorities at an airport, border, or other location, the suspect learns of the notification. However, this seems out of place in an age of rapid technological advancement.
Lookout Notices are often given even though they don’t follow all of the rules. A variety of suspects and anti-national elements have been implicated in these occurrences.
What’s the difference between the LoC and Interpol notices?
The primary goal of the LoC is to prevent anyone suspected of criminal activity from fleeing or entering the nation unnoticed. Interpol’s Red Corner Notice (RCN) ensures that a person who has left or is suspected of running a country is apprehended every time he attempts to enter or leave another country.
Whenever a person with an RCN arrives in another country, the immigration officer there tells the land from whence that individual’s detention request was lodged.
The Lookout Notice’s Effects
Lookout notices may or may not have frightened criminals. Even if Lookout Notices have been issued against them in India, many criminals and accused persons still live and travel abroad. Yet, there is no actual data on the number of Lookout Notices sent out.
