The Kerala High Court has dismissed petitions that challenged the circulation of unsolicited bulk messages sent to government employees highlighting the achievements and policy decisions of the State government.
The petitions had been filed by a staff member from the state’s General Administration Department and an Associate Professor from a college in Malappuram, who also serves as a syndicate member of University of Calicut. The petitioner argued that the messages amounted to an unauthorised use of personal data belonging to government employees, members of the judiciary, and beneficiaries of various welfare schemes. According to the pleas, the communications were allegedly issued by the Chief Minister’s Office ahead of the upcoming State Assembly elections and therefore raised concerns about privacy and the use of official data.
While examining the matter, the court noted the state government’s assurance that no further messages would be circulated until the case was decided. After reviewing the issue, the bench concluded that the messages could not be classified as part of a political campaign. Instead, the court observed that the communication related to official matters such as revisions in dearness allowance, house-rent allowance and other employee-related updates. As a result, it held that such messages could be considered a mode of informing government staff about policy decisions affecting them.
During earlier hearings, the court had sought clarification on how the contact details used for sending the messages were obtained. The focus was on the role of the Kerala IT Mission, which was believed to have accessed the phone numbers through government digital platforms. One such platform mentioned during the proceedings was SPARK, the state’s online payroll and administrative system used for managing employee records.
With the dismissal of the petitions, the court has effectively closed the challenge to the government’s communication practice in this case.
