Kerala Employees To Challenge Govt In High Court Over Alleged Data Privacy Breach
Several employees, who received the unsolicited messages from the CM office, are gearing up to file the petition in the Kerala High Court.
Published : February 23, 2026 at 11:55 AM IST
Thiruvananthapuram: A major legal battle is brewing for the Kerala government as the state government employees and teachers are preparing to approach the High Court, alleging a massive data privacy breach.
The controversy stems from a series of WhatsApp messages sent from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to personal mobile numbers regarding the recent allocation of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR).
Several employees, who received the unsolicited messages on their private phone numbers, are gearing up to file the petition in the High Court. Among the lead petitioners is Rasheed Ahmed, a college teacher and University of Calicut Syndicate member.
“The message received by employees from CM is misleading because the government continues to hold back substantial amounts in salary arrears and benefits. This amounts to an intrusive act,” Ahmed told ETV Bharat.
“Using official contact numbers, provided solely for administrative necessity, to push political promotions is illegal and a direct trespass into the personal lives of the employees,” he said, adding that they had already engaged legal counsel against the move.
The petitioners intend to rely heavily on the 2020 High Court verdict in the Sprinklr case (2020-2026), involving legal challenges against the Kerala government for allegedly sharing sensitive COVID-19 patient data with US-based firm Sprinklr Inc. without proper consent.
The latest legal challenge will be spearheaded by Advocate George Poonthottam, who handled the Sprinklr litigation as well.
Petitioners say that the core of the grievance lies in the alleged misuse of SPARK (Service and Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala), the official portal managing government employees' salaries and service records.
“Providing a mobile number is mandatory for official purposes on SPARK; however, using this database for promotional messaging is a blatant violation of privacy and official protocol,” they argue.
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