Published Feb 18, 2026 | 10:30 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 18, 2026 | 10:30 AM
Kerala High Court. (iStock)
Synopsis: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court scrapped the ‘Nava Keralam – Citizens Response Programme’, terming it illegal and observing that it lacked budgetary allocation and financial sanction. The court held that the survey could not be conducted under the guise of an administrative exercise if it amounted to a political campaign, and pointed to deviations from established financial norms.
In a major setback to the state government, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday, 17 February, scrapped the ‘Nava Keralam – Citizens Response Programme’, terming it illegal and observing that it lacked budgetary allocation and financial sanction.
The court held that the allocation and execution of the scheme violated the Rules of Business and financial discipline.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar VM held that the survey could not be conducted under the guise of an administrative exercise if it amounted to a political campaign, and pointed to deviations from established financial norms.
The court made it clear that while the government is free to undertake welfare measures or developmental studies, any expenditure must strictly adhere to constitutional and financial mandates.
The court was considering a public interest litigation filed by Aloshious Xavier, state president of Congress’ student wing Kerala Students Union (KSU), who alleged that the door-to-door survey was a misuse of public funds and government machinery ahead of the state elections.
The plea was admitted on 14 January, and the programme was subsequently halted before the final order on 17 February.
The Cabinet had, on 29 October 2025, approved the initiative as a two-month exercise from 1 January to 28 February.
Its stated objective was to collate ideas and recommendations from the public on development and welfare initiatives, identify shortcomings in the implementation of existing schemes, assess region-specific development needs, and gather suggestions to make welfare measures more effective.
Officials planned to collate opinions on flagship government projects and assess gaps in implementation at the grassroots level.
The exercise proposed mobilisation of members of social and voluntary organisations for door-to-door outreach, structured questionnaires, and local-level consultations. Preparatory meetings and training sessions were to be conducted for field volunteers and officials.
Committees were to be formed at the panchayat, municipality, corporation, Assembly and district levels under the supervision of a four-member State-level advisory committee comprising senior bureaucrats and academic experts.
With the high court’s verdict, the government’s ambitious feedback-driven planning initiative now stands cancelled.
At the outset, the Bench recorded its reluctance to “enter into the business of the Government” or scrutinise fund allocations unless they are “starkly arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of constitutional or legal mandates.”
However, the court said it was persuaded to “open the can and examine the truth” after petitioners argued that the programme appeared to stem from communications of a political party, culminating in the Nava Kerala initiative to ostensibly ascertain public opinion on development and welfare measures.
The state defended the scheme, citing a Cabinet decision allocating ₹20 crore to collect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to make welfare schemes more efficient.
It maintained that participation was voluntary, no remuneration was paid, no personal data was collected, and that allegations linking the programme to electoral activities were baseless.
However, after examining the Rules of Allocation of Business, the Bench found that database creation for planning, formulation of development and perspective plans, monitoring and evaluation of programmes, and project appraisal squarely fall under the Planning and Economic Affairs Department and the Programme Implementation, Evaluation and Monitoring Department.
However, the Nava Kerala programme was placed under the Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Department and funded under the head “Special PR Campaign.”
The order designating the I&PR Department as the nodal agency and authorising utilisation of ₹20 crore under that head was found to be “inherently flawed and unsustainable.”
The court observed that the scheme “ought to have been” executed by the Planning or Programme Implementation departments and appeared to have been placed under a “Community Listening Scheme” within the Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Department to enable convenient allocation under the PR head.
The Bench noted with concern that the Cabinet decision involving additional expenditure was neither placed before the Legislature — though it was in session — nor subsequently brought for approval.
Referring to Articles 202 to 207 of the Constitution, the court underscored that financial procedures and legislative oversight are mandatory.
It also flagged that the portal used for inviting applications — originally created in January 2020 to mobilise volunteers during natural disasters—was repurposed, even though no such crisis existed.
Holding that funds were utilised “de hors the financial rules,” the court directed the state to keep all steps pursuant to the order in abeyance, reiterating that while it does not question the wisdom of policy, it has a duty to strike down illegal expenditure.
Meanwhile, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President and MLA Sunny Joseph has demanded that the CPI(M) repay ₹20 crore allegedly spent from the government treasury for the ‘New Kerala Survey,’ following the High Court’s decision to cancel the exercise.
In a statement, Sunny Joseph said the court’s action was a “heavy blow” to the Left government, accusing it of misusing taxpayers’ money for election campaign activities.
He alleged that public funds were diverted to deploy party cadres to conduct the survey under the guise of a government programme.
“The chief minister should repay the ₹20 crore spent from the treasury and apologise to the people of Kerala,” he said, adding that the government had prioritised “unnecessary activities” despite facing financial constraints.
The KPCC president further claimed that while farmers were struggling without adequate support and patients were dying due to lack of medicines and treatment in government hospitals, the Pinarayi-led government was wasting public money.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
