Kerala HC flags ‘intrusion of privacy’ in CMO’s bulk messaging to government employees before polls

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday orally observed that there is “prima facie, an intrusion of privacy” in the alleged use of personal data of government employees by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to send bulk WhatsApp and email messages highlighting the LDF government’s achievements ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

While hearing a petition filed by two employees alleging that the CMO had violated the privacy of government employees and judges by illegally accessing their mobile phone numbers and email IDs to send bulk campaign-style messages, a single bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas asked the state to ensure that such messages are not circulated further for now.

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The court said that although it was not passing a formal interim order, it would record the special government pleader’s undertaking that, until February 27, when the case will be heard next, the state will not circulate any such messages.

“You undertake that you will not circulate any further messages in the meantime, because prima facie I find there is an intrusion into the privacy. Suppose I don’t want to receive any messages. You are forcing me to read a message, which I don’t want to know. It is intruding into my privacy,” the court orally remarked.

The court asked the state government to explain how its actions did not amount to a violation of privacy rights.

The petition was filed by Rasheed Ahammed, Associate Professor at KTM College, Kollam, and Anil Kumar K M, Clerical Assistant, General Administration Department, Thiruvananthapuram.

According to the plea, the contact details of government employees were obtained from official databases such as the Service Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala (SPARK), an e-governance platform that stores service records and salary information of state government employees.

The petitioners contended that collecting such contact details without consent for publicity purposes amounts to a violation of the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution and that transferring such data to the CMO would constitute a breach of privacy.

When the matter came up for hearing, the court questioned how the Chief Minister accessed the data and what safeguards were in place.

“If it is not the Chief Minister, somebody else has accessed the data and sent the messages. What is the protection of individual data if this is accessible to everyone?” the court asked.

The court said that if personal contact details were accessed by the state to send such messages, it could amount to unwarranted intrusion into privacy and impermissible data leaks.

It also raised questions about who was operating the alleged business account of the CMO from which the messages were being forwarded.

“The Chief Minister would not be managing the business account. But then, if it is not the Chief Minister, somebody else has access. Who manages this business account? Please satisfy the Court about these aspects. Till then, you shall not circulate any further messages,” the court said.

The matter is scheduled to be heard further on Friday.