Look Out Circular authority limits: invalid request by a statutory commission led to illegal detention and compensation.

A statutory commission exercising only the limited powers conferred for inquiry purposes could not validly request a Look Out Circular, because the governing passport and immigration framework reserved such requests to the authorities identified in the executive instructions and related law-enforcement channels. The immigration action taken on that request was therefore without legal authority, making the airport detention illegal. The Court granted limited monetary compensation and directed removal of the adverse passport endorsement, while declining to order a further inquiry in the circumstances.

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Issues: Whether a statutory commission vested only with limited civil court powers could validly request issuance of a Look Out Circular against a person, and whether the resulting detention at the airport entitled the petitioner to consequential reliefs.

Analysis: The legal framework showed that the commission's powers were confined to those expressly conferred for inquiry purposes under Section 10(4) of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, while the passport and immigration regime governing suspension of travel and issuance of Look Out Circulars operated through the Passports Act, 1967 and the executive instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The record further showed that the request for the Look Out Circular did not emanate from an authority competent under the governing instructions, which contemplated requests from the Central or State Government and specified law-enforcement authorities, not from a statutory body exercising only civil court powers. The consequent action by the immigration authorities was therefore without legal authority. Having found the detention to be illegal, the Court granted limited monetary compensation and directed removal of the adverse passport endorsement, while declining to order a further inquiry in the circumstances.

Conclusion: The request for the Look Out Circular by the statutory commission was invalid, the detention was illegal, and the petitioner was entitled to compensation and expungement of the passport endorsement.

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