Calman v Commissioner of Police

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Mr Calman against a decision of the Commissioner of Police. The dispute concerned the validity of a search warrant issued under the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth) and the subsequent seizure of documents from Mr Calman's premises. Mr Calman sought to have the warrant and seizure declared unlawful.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the information provided to the issuing officer to obtain the search warrant was sufficient to satisfy the requirement that the officer must have "reasonable grounds" to believe that an offence had been, or was being, committed. This involved an examination of the nature and quality of the information that could form the basis of such reasonable grounds.

The Court held that the information before the issuing officer did not establish reasonable grounds for believing that an offence under the *Crimes Act 1914* had been committed. The information was found to be vague and lacking in specificity, failing to connect Mr Calman to any particular criminal activity. The Court reiterated the principle that a belief in reasonable grounds must be based on information that is credible and relevant, and not merely speculative. Consequently, the search warrant was deemed invalid, and the seizure of documents pursuant to that warrant was unlawful.