KOCHI: In a setback to the LDF government in the run-up to the assembly elections, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday quashed the state government’s ‘Nava Kerala Citizen Response Programme’, a Rs 20-crore initiative that proposed a door-to-door outreach to collect public feedback on development and welfare schemes.
Terming the programme a “colourable exercise of executive power”, the court held that public funds cannot be allocated or spent without proper sanction under the Rules of Business. It also raised serious concerns over the involvement of ruling party cadre and the manner in which the programme was conceived and implemented.
The programme had drawn criticism from opposition parties and petitioners, who alleged that the survey was a political outreach exercise disguised as a government initiative and was a aimed at strengthening the ruling front’s influence ahead of the elections using public funds.
During the hearing, a key issue flagged by the HC was a letter issued by CPM state secretary M V Govindan, which called upon party affiliates to participate in the programme and register on the government’s social volunteer force portal.
The court noted that the letter was issued well before the Cabinet approved the programme on October 8, 2025, and before the government formally issued its order authorising the initiative.
Fund allocation violated rules of biz, indicates misuse of authority, says HC
The court observed that the government and Govindan failed to provide a convincing explanation for this sequence of events.
The “evasive and non-responsive” counter-affidavit filed by the CPM state secretary, without clarifying how party cadre were informed in advance, lent credence to the petitioners’ allegation that there was a concerted effort to enable party workers to participate in the programme using a government platform, the court observed.
The state government defended the initiative, stating that it was not a survey or census, but a welfare and development study aimed at gathering public suggestions to improve governance.
It argued that involving volunteers, including party sympathisers, was neither illegal nor unusual.
However, the court rejected the justification, noting that the programme involved the use of public money without following due procedure. It pointed out that the `20 crore allocation was made under the ‘Special PR Campaign’ head of the Information and Public Relations Department, even though the nature of the exercise fell under the Planning and Economic Affairs Department and the Programme Implementation, Evaluation and Monitoring Department.
Such an allocation, the court said, violated the Rules of Business and indicated misuse of executive authority.
The court also noted that the social volunteer force portal used to enrol participants was originally created in 2020 to mobilise volunteers during natural disasters and local emergencies.
It observed that the state was not facing any such crisis at present and that the portal was being used for a purpose different from its original intent.
The High Court issued the order on petitions filed by Kochi native Mubas M H and Kerala Students Union state president Aloshious Xavier, who challenged the legality of the programme and the fund allocation.
Observing that the petitioners’ concerns could not be dismissed, the court ruled that the programme and the fund allocation were not legally sustainable, and quashed the government order authorising the initiative.