KOCHI – In a significant legal challenge to the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government, a petition has been filed in the Kerala High Court alleging a massive breach of data privacy. The petitioners claim that the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) illegally accessed the private contact details of lakhs of government employees and citizens for political campaigning and influence.
The Core Allegations: SPARK Data Leak
The petition centers on SPARK (Service and Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala), the centralized software used to manage the salaries and service records of state employees. The petitioners allege that phone numbers and personal data were “leaked” from this high-security database to the CMO without authorization.
According to the plea, this data was used to send targeted messages to officials, citing promises of Dearness Allowance (DA) hikes and pay revisions to influence their political leanings.
Targeted Campaigning and Privacy Violations
Beyond government staff, the petition highlights that the breach extends to common citizens and entrepreneurs who registered their details for various state services. These individuals allegedly received election-related promotional messages on their private numbers.
The petitioners argue that using private contact information for political gain without explicit consent is a gross violation of the Right to Privacy, as upheld by the Supreme Court of India.
“Government Functioning Like a Political IT Cell”
The legal action was initiated by Dr. P. Rasheed Ahmed, a Calicut University Syndicate member, and K.M. Anilkumar, Treasurer of the Secretariat Association. They contend that state machinery is currently operating like a “political IT cell.”
"It is illegal to sate political hunger by siphoning citizen data. When the administration itself leads a data heist, it becomes a direct threat to democracy," the petition reads.High Court Intervention
The Kerala High Court is scheduled to consider the petition tomorrow. Senior Advocate George Poonthottam will represent the petitioners. The court’s observations regarding how sensitive data from a secure platform like SPARK reached the CMO are expected to have significant political and legal ramifications for the state government.
