Kerala Court Dismisses Petition Against Government Messaging as Election Campaign

The Kerala High Court dismissed a plea by Dr Rasheed Ahammed and Anil Kumar K M, seeking to halt messages from the CMO, which they alleged were sent for political campaigning using private employee data. The government denied these claims. The court's detailed order is pending.

The Kerala High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the dissemination of emails and messages by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) as an election campaign activity. Filed by Dr Rasheed Ahammed and Anil Kumar K M, the plea sought to restrain these communications.

Dr Ahammed, an associate professor in Malappuram, and Kumar, a clerical assistant in the Thiruvananthapuram Secretariat, argued that the CMO accessed private data from the Service and Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala (SPARK) and KSMART systems to promote the state government's achievements.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas rejected the petition, noting that the government had denied the misuse of data claims. The court is expected to release a detailed order soon.

(With inputs from agencies.)