The Kerala High Court dismissed a plea alleging misuse of personal data by the Chief Minister’s Office to send bulk WhatsApp messages highlighting achievements of the LDF government before the 2026 assembly elections, with Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas finding no privacy violation.
KERALA: The Kerala High Court dismissed a petition that claimed the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) was improperly using personal data from government employees and citizens to send bulk WhatsApp messages promoting the achievements of the LDF-led State government in the lead-up to the 2026 assembly elections.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas concluded that the messages sent thus far do not violate the right to privacy or suggest any political agenda, thus rejecting the petition.
The Court stated,
“It is evident that the nature of the message relates to salary and other purposes, benefits, which cannot be regarded as a political campaign to impugn the message to the colour of illegality. The message that has been sent to the employee of the state, as well as the person whose data is kept in the SPARK portal, relate to DA and HRA. The message can hence be regarded as a measure of communicating to the employees of the government the benefits rolled out related to salary and other purposes, which can be viewed only as a measure of good governance, by a social welfare state, such as that cannot be granted illegal or for any illegitimate purpose,”
Factual Background and Contentions of Parties
The petition was brought forth by Dr. Rasheed Ahammed P, an associate professor, and Anil Kumar KM, a clerical assistant in the general administration department.
The petitioners sought the Court’s intervention after receiving bulk WhatsApp messages from the CMO, praising the government’s accomplishments ahead of the upcoming 2026 Legislative Assembly Elections.
According to the petition, these messages were sent to government employees via the Service Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala (SPARK), an e-governance platform that manages service records and salary details, by accessing contact information of state employees.
They argued that the data provided through SPARK was exclusively for official uses such as salary processing, service records, and related administrative functions.
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However, the petition alleged that this information was consolidated and transmitted to the CMO through entities like the Kerala State IT Mission (KSITM), which subsequently resulted in bulk WhatsApp messages being sent to the personal accounts of government employees and other citizens.
The petitioners contended that this use of personal data amounts to a violation of the right to privacy under Article 21 (right to life) of the Indian Constitution.
Additionally, the plea referenced the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), arguing that the alleged use of personal data lacked transparency, lawful authority, and consent.
Consequently, the petitioners requested that the High Court restrain the State’s officials, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, from misusing personal contact details of government employees and also sought compensation for the data misuse and an injunction against further messages from the CMO.
During the proceedings, the Court noted the state’s undertaking to halt further messaging until the matter was resolved.
Meanwhile, the State submitted an interlocutory application seeking permission to send “Thank you” messages to individuals who had contributed to the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF).
The petitioners opposed this request, asserting that acknowledgment receipts were issued at the time of donation, making a second round of messages unnecessary.
Ultimately, the Court delivered its conclusion and dismissed the main petition.
The petitioners were represented by Senior Advocate George Poonthottam and advocates Nisha George, AL Navaneeth Krishnan, and Kavya Varma M.
Kerala Advocate General and Senior Advocate Gopalakrishnan Kurup represented the State.
Case Title: Dr Rasheed Ahammed P & anr v. State of Kerala and ors.
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