Kerala High Court Demands Immediate Explanation Over Alleged Data Misuse
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday issued a stern rebuke to the state government, demanding an immediate explanation for accessing the private contact details of approximately five lakh government employees. The court's intervention came in response to a plea alleging that the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) bypassed privacy laws to send unsolicited, personalized WhatsApp messages featuring Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's photograph.
Election Campaign Messages Under Scrutiny
The messages in question highlighted government achievements such as the 10% Dearness Allowance (DA) hike and were reportedly distributed as part of an election campaign for the upcoming May 2026 legislative assembly polls. The bench expressed serious concerns about a clear "lack of privacy" in this outreach initiative, specifically scrutinizing the suspected unauthorized transfer of data.
The data was allegedly transferred from the SPARK (Service and Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala) portal, a database strictly intended for salary and administrative purposes, through the Kerala State IT Mission to the CMO. The court emphasized that using administrative data for political promotion could constitute a serious breach of the Right to Privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution and the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023.
Court Directives and Legal Implications
Subsequently, the court instructed the government to clarify the legal authority behind this data processing and to halt further dissemination of such messages until the source of the data is legally verified. In a direct order, the court directed the CMO office to "Stop spreading messages ASAP." This judicial action follows allegations by the Kerala Congress party that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan misused official SPARK databases to send election propaganda to government employees and the public.
The opposition party characterized this alleged action as a "massive breach of trust and individual privacy." In a series of posts on social media platform X, the Kerala Congress accused Vijayan of turning governance into a "PR spectacle" and using public funds to build what they described as a "snooping" infrastructure.
Political Allegations and Historical Context
One X post stated: "Kerala is witnessing state-sponsored data theft! CM @pinarayivijayan is caught red-handed using official SPARK databases to spam government employees and people with election propaganda. This is a massive breach of trust and individual privacy." Another post added: "Why is Ashwini Vaishnaw looking the other way? Is it because of the unholy CPM-BJP alliance we see in Kerala? Pinarayi has clearly mastered the Modi playbook, turning governance into a PR spectacle and using public money for a 'snooping' infrastructure."
The Kerala Congress further cited the Kerala High Court's earlier quashing of a Rs 20 crore data-harvesting survey, calling it a "colourable exercise of power" that violated Article 166(3) Rules of Business. The party asserted that this misuse of official data amounts to an attack on citizens' Right to Privacy under Article 21 and demanded immediate legal action against the alleged surveillance activities.
This case highlights growing concerns about data privacy in electoral processes and the ethical boundaries of using government databases for political communication. The court's intervention underscores the legal obligations of public officials to protect citizen data and maintain transparency in data handling practices.
