Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 2 (IANS) Congress CWC member and senior legislator Ramesh Chennithala on Monday said the Kerala High Court’s January 28 judgment on the Sprinklr data deal had fully vindicated the Opposition’s long-held position and demanded that the Pinarayi Vijayan government take action against those responsible for entering into an irregular and illegal contract.
Addressing the media here, Chennithala rejected CPI-M state Secretary M.V. Govindan’s demand for an apology, accusing him of misinterpreting the High Court verdict and displaying a “fundamental lack of understanding” of the case.
He said the court had merely closed the petitions after confirming its interim order of April 24, 2020, since the contract had been cancelled and the data destroyed.
Chennithala recalled that it was he, as Leader of the Opposition during the Covid-19 period, who approached the High Court in public interest against the government’s decision to hand over sensitive health data of quarantined citizens to a foreign firm (Sprinklr).
He noted that the court had accepted the core arguments raised by him and restrained the government, forcing it to withdraw from the deal.
Citing specific findings from the judgment, Chennithala said the High Court had confirmed grave procedural lapses and held that then Principal Secretary, IT, M. Sivasankar had entered into the agreement without Cabinet approval or the Chief Minister’s consent, amounting to “gross dereliction of duty”.
The court, he pointed out, had also upheld the contention that the agreement was illegal and unconstitutional under Article 299 of the Constitution.
He highlighted the court’s serious concern over the jurisdiction clause granting exclusive rights to courts in the United States, making it difficult for citizens to pursue remedies in the event of data theft.
The court also accepted the argument that personal data collected could have been used for commercial purposes.
Chennithala said the Madhavan Nambiar Committee findings, cited in the judgment, had confirmed violations of the Rules of Procedure, the Secretariat Manual, and the failure to consult the Law and Finance Departments.
He stressed that the High Court had categorically directed the government to take appropriate action against those responsible and ensure that such lapses do not recur.
The Congress leader said attempts by the CPI-M leadership to trivialise the verdict would not dilute the seriousness of the findings, adding that accountability, not political rhetoric, was now required from the government.
–IANS
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