Kerala High Court Halts New Kerala Survey, Criticizes CPI(M) and State Government

Kochi, February 17: The Kerala High Court has imposed a ban on the ‘New Kerala Survey’ and issued stern remarks against the ruling CPI(M) and the state government. The court highlighted serious procedural irregularities associated with the survey.

The division bench remarked that the party had prior knowledge about the survey. The court questioned how the party learned of this decision before the government’s formal order was issued, noting that no satisfactory explanation was provided.

It was revealed that before the state cabinet’s decision on October 8, 2025, a letter was sent by the party secretary to activists, instructing them to register on the portal. Petitioners presented this letter in court.

The court stated that this letter cannot be taken lightly, raising suspicions that the party intended to secretly involve its activists in the survey process.

CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan was also named as a respondent in the case. However, the bench, led by the Chief Justice, found his affidavit unsatisfactory.

The High Court deemed the approval of ₹20 crore under the guise of a ‘special PR campaign’ as a violation of regulations, asserting that the allocation process itself was against the rules. The court emphasized that prior approval from the finance department was essential for such surveys funded by the government, which was not obtained.

Labeling this as a deviation from financial standards, the court expressed doubts about the methodology of the survey. Although the survey was scheduled to continue until February 22, the court declared it illegal and halted it immediately.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had described the ‘New Kerala Survey’ as a program to gauge public opinion on the government’s development and welfare initiatives. However, with assembly elections approaching, this court ruling is seen as a significant setback for the government.

The petition was filed by KSU state president Aloysius Xavier and Congress’s Ernakulam district panchayat member Mubas Onakkali. They alleged that the survey, funded by public money, was actually a means for CPI(M) to gather data ahead of the elections and was a misuse of public funds.