Kerala High Court dismisses plea against CMO over bulk WhatsApp messages to government employees

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea alleging that the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) was unlawfully using personal data belonging to government employees and citizens to send bulk WhatsApp messages highlighting the LDF-led State government's achievements ahead of the 2026 assembly elections [Dr Rasheed Ahammed P & anr v State of Kerala and ors]..Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas held that the messages that have been sent thus far cannot be considered to be violative of the right to privacy or pushing any political agenda and, therefore, dismissed the petition."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 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," the Court said..The petition was filed by Dr. Rasheed Ahammed P, an associate professor and Anil Kumar KM, a clerical assistant in the general administration department.The petitioners approached the Court after receiving bulk WhatsApp messages from the CMO, praising the government and its achievements ahead of the 2026 Legislative Assembly Elections.According to the plea, the messages were sent to government employees through the Service Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala (SPARK), an e-governance platform that stores service records and salary information of state government employees, by accessing the contact details of government employees.They contended that data provided by employees through SPARK was meant strictly for official purposes, such as salary, processing, service records and related administrative functions.However, the petition alleged that such information was consolidated and transmitted to the CMO through agencies such as the Kerala State IT Mission (KSITM), after which bulk WhatsApp messages were sent to personal accounts of government employees and other citizens.Further, they argued that such use of personal information belonging to employees amounted to a violation of the right to privacy under Article 21 (right to life) of the Indian Constitution.The plea also invoked the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), contending that the alleged use of personal data lacked transparency, lawful authority and consent.The petitioners, thus, sought directions from the High Court to restrain the State's functionaries, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, from misusing such personal contact details of government employees and sought compensation for the misuse of their data and an order preventing the CMO from sending further messages.During the course of proceedings, the Court recorded the state's undertaking that no further messages would be circulated until the the disposal of the matter.Meanwhile, the State also filed 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 the request, arguing that the acknowledgment receipts had already been issued at the time of the donation and that there was no need to send a second round of messages at this stage.The Court passed its final verdict in the matter today, 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 appeared for the State..[Read Judgment].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.