Kochi | The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking to restrain emails and messages allegedly sent by the CMO to officials highlighting the achievements of the state government.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas rejected the petition moved by Dr Rasheed Ahammed, an associate professor at a college in Malappuram, and Anil Kumar K M, a clerical assistant at the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, claiming that sending such messages amounts to an election campaign.

The detailed order of the court is awaited.

The petitioners had alleged that the messages were sent by accessing private data provided on the Service and Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala (SPARK) for intimating the credit of the monthly salary and benefits.

They had also claimed that data from the KSMART (Kerala Solutions for Managing Administrative Reformation and Transformation) system was also taken for sending the messages.

The government had denied the allegations.

SPARK is an e-governance initiative under the Finance Department of Kerala and has been operational since 2007, aimed at digitalising HR-related services and salary data of government employees.

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking to restrain emails and messages allegedly sent by the CMO to officials highlighting the achievements of the state government.