Home Ministry circulars on Look Out notices, which were issued as far back as four decades ago, should be made public, the Central Information Commission ruled last week, rejecting the Ministry’s argument that they were classified documents.

The order came after an RTI applicant, Gaurav Deep Gupta, requested information on Look Out notices, including a copy of a circular issued by the Home Ministry in 1979 and an official memorandum issued in 2000. The Ministry refused, arguing that they were “secret and classified” documents, but did not attribute any proper reason under the RTI Act’s provisions.

In his ruling, Chief Information Commissioner Sudhir Bhargava pointed out that the circulars were only meant to “prescribe the procedure/policy, as well as the responsibilities of State Governments and Union Territories regarding look out notices”.

Noting that the Ministry’s Central Public Information Officer had not been able to justify the denial of information as per the provisions of the RTI Act, Mr. Bhargava directed that the documents be made available.