Kochi, February 17 The Kerala High Court on Tuesday said that government funds could not have been used for the Nava Kerala Citizen Response Programme and overturned the order authorizing ₹20 crore for the initiative.
A bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V M stated that the expenditure incurred for the implementation of such a programme is in violation of the rules of business.
The court's order came in response to two pleas, one of which was filed by the Kerala Students Union (KSU) state president, Aloshious Xavier, seeking to overturn the order launching the programme and prevent the government from "misusing public funds for personal and political gain of the ruling party or front".
The pleas also claimed that the initiative was "a political campaign of the ruling party or political front, disguised as a government programme" and that it had been launched with the sole objective of furthering their political interests ahead of the 2026 state assembly elections.
