Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala High Court is scheduled to hear a plea on Tuesday (February, 24), in which Chief Minister's Office (CMO) is accused of illegally accessing personal data of government employees. The development comes at a sensitive time, ahead of the assembly elections expected in April–May.

The petition claims that personal details, including mobile numbers and email addresses, were used without consent to send bulk messages promoting government achievements. The messages, reportedly received across various departments, highlighted initiatives like salary revisions, housing loans, and welfare schemes.

Allegations of unauthorised access via SPARK

The plea has been filed by a Secretariat employee, Anilkumar K.M., and Dr P. Rasheed Ahmed, Associate Professor at KTM College, Malappuram and member of Calicut University Syndicate.

According to the petition, the personal data of state employees, judicial officers, and government beneficiaries was accessed without permission, potentially through SPARK (Service Pay Roll Administrative Repository for Kerala). SPARK is an e-governance system that digitises HR services and salary information for government employees.

The petitioners allege that the information was later transmitted to the Chief Minister's Office via the Kerala IT Mission, a government body, and used to circulate election-related messages, including on WhatsApp accounts of government staff. They argue this involved unauthorised use of public funds and violated both privacy norms and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

Court intervention sought

The plea seeks a declaration that the CMO’s collection of personal data without consent is illegal, a violation of privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution, and contrary to the DPDP Act. Petitioners also request the court to restrain the CMO from further accessing or using mobile numbers, email IDs, and other personal data, and to direct monetary compensation for the unauthorised access.

Given the public interest element, the petitioners have offered to pursue the matter as a public interest litigation.