Kerala High Court Quashes ‘Nava Kerala’ Survey Over Lack of Financial Sanction

The Kerala High Court has set aside the State government’s order launching the “Nava Kerala – Citizen Response Program,” holding that the ₹20-crore allocation for the proposed household survey lacked mandatory financial sanction and breached State financial rules.

The Court observed that while the government is free to undertake welfare studies, public funds cannot be utilised without proper budgetary approval.

It found that the decision to proceed without sanction was unsustainable in law.

The survey was challenged in PILs as a politically motivated exercise ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections and as an intrusion into citizens’ privacy without statutory backing.

[Mubas v. State of Kerala & Anr.]