Supreme Court Stays Kerala HC Judgment Stopping State Govt's 'Nava Kerala Citizen Response Program'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Kerala High Court's decision which restrained the State Government from carrying out the "Nava Kerala Citizens Response Program", which was a scheme envisaged to spread awareness about Government's schemes and get the feedback from the citizens.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the interim order while issuing notice on the State's Special Leave Petition challenging the High Court's judgment.

The bench however directed that the State shall at an appropriate stage submit a report with respect to the expenditure incurred for the work.

At the outset, CJI Kant asked what was wrong with the scheme. "Why cannot a state find out the effects of its schemes and how can it be improved? What is wrong with that?" CJI asked.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, for the State, submitted that not even a single paisa has been given to the volunteers. The counsel for the respondents (petitioners before the High Court) submitted that it was essentially a "PR campaign" by the party at the State's expense. He submitted that the CPI(M) Secretary got information about the scheme even before it was officially notified by the Government.

"Sometimes the local level leader makes a statement," CJI said. The respondent's counsel submitted that the statement was made by the CPI(M) Secretary and not a local leader. "The ploy is they send party workers to each house at the Government's expense. 23 crores which was not part of the appropriation bill has been allocated for this. This is a publicity scheme by the party on the eve of election at the Government expenditure. This is the High Court's scathing finding," the counsel submitted.

The bench however proceeded to stay the High Court's order.

"Issue notice. Meanwhile, the operation of the judgment dated 17th February, 2026 shall remain stayed. The State shall at an appropriate stage submit a report with respect to the expenditure incurred," the bench observed in the order.

The scheme was challenged before the High Court on the ground that it was a publicity campaign for the Government ahead of the elections, by using the services of party workers. The High Court held that the utilisation of public funds under the Information and Public Relations Department violated the Rules of Business and financial norms. The Court directed the State to keep in abeyance all further steps in connection with the programme.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. allowed two public interest litigations challenging the programme, which was launched through a government order dated October 10, 2025. The Court held that the programme's objectives, including collection of development suggestions, evaluation of welfare schemes and planning future initiatives, fell within the domain of the Planning and Economic Affairs Department or the Programme Implementation, Evaluation and Monitoring Department.

However, the government had designated the Information and Public Relations Department as the nodal agency and authorised it to utilise ₹20 crore under the “Special PR Campaign” head. The High Court Bench found that this allocation was contrary to the Rules of Business framed under Article 166(3) of the Constitution and could not be justified by Cabinet approval or administrative sanction. It held that compliance with the Rules of Business is mandatory, particularly where public finances are involved, and that the allocation amounted to a colourable exercise of executive power.

Case : State of Kerala v. Mubas MH | SLP(c) 7508-7509/2026