What is Lookout Notice and Why is it Issued

What is Lookout Notice and Why is it
Issued

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.



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.