HC halts Nava Kerala survey, flags rule violations, political intent

Kochi: In a major blow to LDF govt, Kerala high court has ordered to keep the ongoing ‘Nava Kerala Citizens Response Programme', a survey reportedly aimed at gathering public opinion and suggestions on development and welfare initiatives, in abeyance. A bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice V M Syam Kumar also set aside the govt order (GO) dated Oct 10, 2025, issued to conduct the survey, authorising the information and public relations department to utilise Rs 20 crore for the programme, as well as subsequent GOs, including those granting administrative sanction. The order came on public interest litigations (PILs) filed by KSU state president Aloshious Xaviour and M H Mubas of Perumbavoor, challenging the survey. The petitioners had contended that conducting it immediately prior to the assembly elections, at public expense, amounted to a door-to-door political outreach for the ruling CPM-led front. They also alleged that the allocation of Rs 20 crore for the survey was contrary to the Rules of Business of the govt and violated Articles 204 and 205 of the Constitution, as it did not comply with the mandate that all fund allocations require prior authorisation from the legislature. The court agreed with this, observing that designating the information and public relations department as the nodal office and allotting the fund under the head ‘special PR campaign' ran contrary to the Rules of Business. It noted that the objective of the survey was to collect ideas, opinions and suggestions and study them to improve the efficiency of welfare schemes. This, it observed, fell squarely within the domain of the planning and economic affairs department or the programme implementation, evaluation and monitoring department, and not within the purview of the information and public relations department, to which the funds had been allocated. Another allegation concerned the engagement of volunteers registered on the ‘Karma Sena – Social Volunteer Force' portal of the state to conduct the survey. The petitioners relied mainly on a letter written by the CPM state secretary to district committees on Sept 23, 2025, instructing party members to urgently register on the portal and coordinate with the programme. According to the petitioners, this communication preceded the announcement of the scheme by the state govt and indicated that the programme was launched solely to further the political interests of the ruling party by utilising public funds at a time when the state is in financial distress and the 2026 assembly elections are approaching. The party state secretary, who was later impleaded in the petitions, countered the allegation, arguing that the involvement of sympathisers of a political party in the execution of a programme conceived by the govt is neither illegal nor prohibited.However, the court observed that the portal was constituted in 2020 for a different purpose, namely to meet the need for volunteer support during natural disasters and that the objectives of the Nava Keralam Programme are entirely distinct from that purpose. It noted that prudence and professionalism may require entrusting such a specialised activity to competent and qualified persons with the necessary expertise to assess the implementation of development and welfare schemes.The bench further stated that the allegations regarding the letter of the party secretary could not be brushed aside as there was no tenable explanation as to how the letter came to be issued to party cadres well before the cabinet decision and the issuance of the GO. The counter-affidavit and reply filed by the state also did not disclose any steps taken to ensure wide publicity for volunteer enlistment for the survey process. This, the court said, lent credence to the allegation that there had been a concerted effort to covertly use the programme by enabling party cadres to flood the portal without giving adequate publicity to its utilisation for the Nava Keralam Programme. Finally, the court expressed doubt as to whether the govt would have sufficient time to analyse and utilise the data collected through the survey, which involves spending several crores of rupees, as it is being conducted in the brief gap between the Model Code of Conduct for the 2025 local body elections and the impending code for the 2026 assembly elections.