The court affirmed that allegations of financial mismanagement without evidence of corruption do not necessitate a vigilance inquiry, reinforcing the proper conduct of public events.

Heard Mr. Jayesh Mohankumar, learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Jaiju Babu, learned Senior Advocate instructed by Ms. M.U. Vijayalakshmi, learned counsel for respondent No.6, Mr. M. Sasindran, learned counsel for respondent No.7 and Ms. Vinitha B., learned Senior Government Pleader.

2. This Public Interest Litigation is filed by the Vice President of a political party of Kasaragod District, who is employed as a night watchman in Vellarikundu Primary Cooperative Agricultural & Rural Development Bank Ltd. The petitioner alleges that large scale irregularity and siphoning of public fund is being carried out on the pretext of conducting the “Bekal International Beach Day & Night Festival” during 2022 & 2023. The petitioner alleges that on 02.12.2022, the Tourism Department sanctioned Rs.10 lakhs for conducting the 1^st Bekal International Beach Day & Night Festival. First edition of the Bekal International Beach Day &

Night Festival was held between 24.12.2022 to 02.01.2023 under the organising committee chaired by the 7^th respondent. The organising committee printed eight lakh tickets and raised large sums from stalls, sponsors, institutions and the public, including funds collected from Gulf countries. The 7th respondent is alleged to have stated in a press conference that a total sum of Rs.1,79,36,341/- was generated, out of which Rs.1,44,27,399/- was incurred towards expenditure, leaving a profit of Rs.35,08,942/-. Subsequently, in a second press statement, the 7th respondent allegedly revised the figures, stating that the total income was Rs.1,87,70,756/- and the expenditure was Rs.1,74,16,749/-, thereby reducing the profit to Rs.13,54,007/-.

3. The petitioner submitted a complaint to the Hon’ble Chief Minister seeking initiation of a vigilance enquiry, alleging possible corruption in connection with the said festival. The writ petition has been filed seeking issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the 5th respondent, namely, the Director of Vigilance, to conduct an enquiry into the accounts furnished by the organising committee under the Chairmanship of the 7^th respondent in respect of the said festival conducted during the years 2022 and 2023. A further prayer has been made seeking a direction to respondent No. 2 to strictly follow the accounting principles in relation to the income and expenditure for conducting the 3^rd edition of the said festival.

4. The petition is contested by the State respondents as well as the organising committee of the said festival. The Vigilance Department has scrutinized the records and filed an affidavit placing additional facts on record. Paragraph Nos. 4 to 20 of the said affidavit read as follows:

“4. Upon verification, it was revealed that the first edition of the Bekal International Beach Day & Night Festival was conducted from 22.12.2022 to 02.01.2023. An organising committee was formed on 17.10.2022 with representatives from various sections.

5. It was verified that the ticket fare was fixed at Rs.50/- for adults and Rs.25/- for children. Entry passes were sold through Kudumbashree units, Yathra Sree and Pallikkara Service Cooperative Bank on commission basis. Tickets were printed through A1 Printers, Kozhikode, after inviting quotations.

6. As per the final income statement maintained, an amount of Rs.1,56,37,201/- was received from ticket sales, A contract for advertisement and commercial activities was awarded to ASMI Event Management Group for Rs.26 lakhs for setting up stalls and conducting programmes. After conclusion of the festival, the entire income and expenditure were audited by Naveen Kumar, Chartered Accountant.

7. ~ As per the audit report, the total income of the first edition was Rs.1,79,36,351/- and the total expenditure was Rs.1,66,27,399/-, leaving a