A major legal challenge is set to confront the Kerala government, with state government employees and teachers preparing to move the High Court over an alleged breach of data privacy.
The controversy erupted after several employees received WhatsApp messages from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on their personal mobile numbers regarding the recent allocation of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR). The recipients claim the messages were unsolicited and were sent to phone numbers provided strictly for official administrative purposes.
A group of employees is now gearing up to file a petition before the Kerala High Court. Among the lead petitioners is Rasheed Ahmed, a college teacher and Syndicate member of the University of Calicut.
Ahmed alleged that the communication was misleading and intrusive. “The message received by employees from the CMO is misleading because the government continues to withhold substantial amounts in salary arrears and benefits. This amounts to an intrusive act,” he said.
He further claimed that the use of official contact details for what he described as promotional messaging was unlawful. “Using official contact numbers, provided solely for administrative necessity, to push political promotions is illegal and a direct trespass into the personal lives of the employees,” he added, confirming that legal counsel has already been engaged.
The petitioners are expected to rely significantly on the 2020 Kerala High Court verdict in the Sprinklr case, which involved allegations that the state government had shared sensitive COVID-19 patient data with US-based firm Sprinklr Inc. without proper consent. Advocate George Poonthottam, who represented petitioners in the Sprinklr litigation, will spearhead the latest legal challenge.
At the heart of the controversy is the alleged misuse of SPARK (Service and Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala), the official portal that manages salary disbursement and service records of government employees.
Petitioners argue that while submitting mobile numbers on SPARK is mandatory for administrative purposes, using this database for mass messaging related to government announcements constitutes a violation of privacy and official protocol.
With the petition likely to be filed soon, the matter is expected to spark a fresh debate on data protection, employee privacy and the limits of official communication by government offices in the digital age.
Also read: Kerala Budget 2024-25: Liquor prices to be increased by ₹10 per litre
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