In a hearing on Friday, the Kerala High Court considered an interim application filed by the State government seeking permission to send ‘Thank You’ messages to contributors of the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF). The application was met with objections from senior advocate Poonthottam, who indicated that an objection will be filed.
Advocate General (AG) Gopalakrishna Kurup argued in favor of the State government, addressing concerns raised by petitioners alleging a violation of privacy by sending bulk messages to government employees and judges via the SPARK database. AG Kurup maintained that the State IT Mission (KSITM) platform was not being used illegitimately for this purpose.
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas inquired about the appropriateness of the Chief Minister sending thanks to contributors, noting that many state employees and others had already contributed to the CMDRF. Senior counsel for the petitioners clarified that receipts acknowledging contributions made by state employees had been issued previously, and that a significant percentage of employees had donated to the fund.
While AG Kurup emphasized that the question at hand was whether sending messages using KSITM’s platform was for an illegitimate purpose or not, the Court has reserved its order on the application until tomorrow. The Court had previously heard detailed arguments adduced by the petitioners.
