‘Can only be seen as part of good governance'; HC dismisses plea against govt in data leak case

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court dismissed the plea against the government in the Spark data leak case. The high court said that there was no illegality in the chief minister's office sending the messages and it can be seen only as part of good governance. The plea was considered by a bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas. Two from Malappuram filed a plea against the government in the high court.

There is no evidence for the chief minister’s office leaking personal information. Therefore, there is no illegality in this. The court dismissed the plea after hearing government’s detailed arguments. The court also clarified that since the message was sent without using the symbols of the political party, it can only be seen as part of good governance.

The petitioner informed the court that the information in the Spark software, which handles the personal information of government employees, was misused to send messages for political campaigning. However, the government informed the court that the messages regarding DA (dearness allowance) to government employees were sent in the name of the chief minister by the IT Mission.

The court pointed that the messages were not sent from the chief minister's personal account, but from the official account of the IT Mission. The court pointed that technology is used to make administration smoother in a welfare state. Shouldn't informing employees directly about their dearness allowances be seen as part of good governance and where is the illegality in this, the court asked the petitioner.