New Delhi: In a significant relief to the Government of Kerala, the Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the interim order of the Kerala High Court that had halted the state’s proposed ‘Nava Kerala Survey’, allowing the government to proceed with the exercise.
The High Court had last week restrained the survey following petitions filed by leaders of the Kerala Students Union (KSU), who alleged that the data collection drive, undertaken ahead of elections, amounted to a politically motivated exercise funded by public money.
The High Court struck down the controversial ‘Nava Kerala Survey’, calling it unlawful and questioning how it was funded and executed. The Court had made it clear that there was neither a proper budget allocation nor a financial sanction for the programme.
Challenging the High Court’s stay, the state government moved an appeal in the Supreme Court.
Appearing for the state, senior advocate Kapil Sibal contended that the government has the authority to assess how effectively welfare schemes are reaching beneficiaries and to collect data for administrative evaluation.
Accepting the broad thrust of this argument, the apex court observed that governments are entitled to undertake such surveys to evaluate the impact of schemes on which crores of rupees are spent.
The Bench questioned the basis for halting the exercise, asking what was wrong with gathering information to determine whether welfare programmes were yielding the intended results.
It underlined that political criticism of a survey cannot be the sole ground to restrain a state from performing governance functions.
The court also made pointed remarks against unwarranted judicial interference in administrative matters, stressing the need for restraint unless there is a clear constitutional violation.
While permitting the survey to continue, the Supreme Court directed the state government to submit a report detailing the expenditure involved, estimated at around Rs 20 crore.
The case has been posted for further hearing on April 13.
The ruling marks a crucial legal victory for the Pinarayi Vijayan government and reinforces the executive’s authority to undertake policy evaluation exercises, even in politically sensitive periods.
(IANS)
