Certified copies of search warrant orders and supporting applications may be furnished to the affected person under public document principles.

A formal Magistrate's order issuing a search warrant is treated as a public document, so a certified copy may ordinarily be furnished to the affected person. The application on which that order is founded may also be copied where needed to understand the warrant order properly. The broader entitlement to copies of the underlying police report was not finally determined. On the facts stated, certified copies of the Magistrate's order and the Inspector's application were directed to be granted, while the substantive challenge to the searches was left for further hearing.

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Issues: Whether the petitioners were entitled to certified copies of the Magistrate's order issuing the search warrant and of the application on which it was founded.

Analysis: A recorded order made by a Magistrate for the issue of a search warrant is treated as a public document and, where such an order is formally passed, a copy may ordinarily be furnished to the person affected. The broader claim to copies of the underlying police report was not finally decided. On the facts, the order was based on an application by the Inspector seeking search warrants, and there was no legal objection to furnishing a copy of that application so that the order could be properly understood.

Conclusion: Certified copies of the Magistrate's order dated 14 June 1952 and of the Inspector's application dated 13 June 1952 were directed to be granted.

Final Conclusion: The petitioners obtained limited relief on the copy issue, while the substantive challenge to the legality of the searches was left for further hearing.

Ratio Decidendi: A formal judicial order issuing a search warrant is a public document, and the application on which such order is founded may be copied by the person affected, even though the larger question regarding access to the underlying police report remains open.

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