"There is no other way out at this point," Pinarayi Vijayan had said
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday stayed the state's Left government's order to defer payments of a portion of salaries of all government employees by five months. The order has been stayed for two months.
The state government had earlier decided to defer payment of government employees - involving setting aside their pay of six days - for a total of five months.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the measure was taken because of the financial crisis in the state due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
"There is no other way out at this point," Mr Vijayan had said when asked about resistance to the order.
However, the High Court, though appreciating the efforts of the state government in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak, said that deferring salaries was not grounded in law.
"It is the right of every individual to get the salary for the work which they have done," the court stated.
Even the Kerala Government Medical Officer's Association - a body of government health officials had objected, saying the state government's decision to defer a portion of the salaries was "too cruel and inhuman".
Kerala has a total of 485 confirmed coronavirus cases, of which 123 patients are under treatment in various hospitals in the state. 359 have recovered while 4 have died.