The Court ruled that allocation of public funds for the 'Nava Keralam Programme' violated constitutional mandates as it lacked legislative sanction and contravened the Rules of Business.

JUDGMENT :

Soumen Sen, C.J.

1. Whether a political party should be the face of the Government and influence the Government in designing its events to suit the political needs of the party, and whether, in the process of implementing such policies, the utilisation of the public exchequer without sanction under the Rules of Business can be justified, are the issues raised in this Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

2. Since common questions concerning the ‘Nava Keralam ‘New Kerala’ - Citizen Response Programme’ (herein after referred to as the ‘Nava Keralam Programme’), implemented by the State through its Information and public Relations Department, arise for consideration in both these Public Interest litigations, they are heard and disposed of together.

3. Petitioners allege that the Nava Keralam Programme, for which an amount of around Rs.20 Crores has been earmarked for expenditure, is a political campaign of the ruling party/political front, masquerading as a Government Programme and that it had been launched with the singular objective of furthering the political interests of the ruling political party/Front utilising public funds at a time when State is in doldrums and the Legislative Assembly Elections, 2026, are on the anvil.

4. The State, on the other hand, maintains that the Nava Keralam Programme is a development and welfare study intended to obtain development suggestions and ideas from the people, to seek their opinions on welfare projects, to understand development needs locally, and to plan and collect opinions from the public. The said programme, according to the State, is an essential welfare study intended to augment and facilitate the development measures already undertaken, and thus being a ‘Policy matter’, is beyond the scope of consideration by this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

5. While W.P(PIL) No.4 of 2026 principally seeks to quash Exhibit P1 order dated 10.10.2025, issued by the Department of Information and Public Relations, launching the Nava Keralam Programme, the prayer in W.P(PIL) No.8 of 2026, inter alia, is to restrain the respondents from ‘misusing public funds for personal and political gain of the ruling party/front’ under the garb of the selfsame programme. Interim prayers seeking to direct the Government to keep in abeyance all further proceedings pursuant to Exhibit P1 order and not to release funds from the public exchequer/Government treasury to pursue the Nava Keralam Programme have also been sought.

6. Respondents entered in appearance and filed counter-affidavits in both the Writ Petitions. The State has also filed an additional counter-affidavit in response to the petitioners' reply affidavit. Noting that one among the contentions put forth to challenge Exhibit P1 order covering the Nava Keralam Programme was Exhibit P2 letter date