In a significant victory for the Kerala government, the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the Kerala High Court’s interim order that had halted the state’s ambitious ‘Nava Kerala Survey’. This decision allows the government to proceed with the data collection drive aimed at evaluating welfare schemes.
The High Court had stepped in last week following petitions from Kerala Students’ Union (KSU) leaders. They alleged the survey, conducted ahead of elections, was a politically motivated campaign funded by public money. The High Court deemed the initiative illegal, questioning its funding and implementation, noting the absence of proper budget allocation or financial approval.
Challenging this stay, the Kerala government approached the apex court. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the state, argued that governments have the right to assess the effectiveness of welfare programs reaching beneficiaries and collect data for administrative evaluation.
The Supreme Court bench agreed, observing that governments are entitled to conduct surveys on schemes involving massive expenditures in crores. It questioned the logic of halting such efforts, emphasizing that evaluating whether welfare programs deliver intended results is a legitimate governmental function.
The court stressed that political criticism of a survey cannot be the sole ground to prevent administrative actions. It cautioned against undue judicial interference in governance matters unless there’s a clear constitutional violation.
While permitting the survey to continue, the Supreme Court directed the state to file a detailed report on the estimated expenditure of around Rs 20 crore. The next hearing is scheduled for April 13.
This ruling underscores the balance between judicial oversight and executive autonomy in policy implementation, potentially setting a precedent for similar data-driven initiatives across states.