Punjab’s petition against the denial of political clearance for CM Mann’s France visit has succeeded in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, though the reasons are yet to be seen. The trip was planned around the SIAL Paris 2026 food trade fair.
Chandigarh: On Friday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed the State of Punjab’s petition against the Union Government’s refusal of political clearance for Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s proposed visit to France. The order’s reasons and exact directions were not available at the time of writing, and this report will be updated once the order is uploaded [State of Punjab v. Union of India].
Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya heard the petition. The Chief Minister was to travel with Chief Secretary K.A.P. Sinha and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Ravi Bhagat.
What the State told the Court
Arguing at the hearing on 15 October, Senior Advocate and Additional Advocate General Chanchal Singla said the denial carried no reasons and was issued without a hearing. He alleged discrimination as well, pointing to a recent case in which the Chief Minister of Haryana was permitted to travel abroad. In the petition, the State argues that the political clearance mechanism has no statutory basis and that the instructions governing it set no criteria, time limit or appeal.
It says a coordination device has been turned into a veto over the State’s executive functions, places the visit within the State’s executive power under Article 162, and calls the use of a foreign-affairs power to stop a State from marketing its farmers’ produce a colourable exercise of power.
Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain appeared for the Union, whose response was sought, and the matter was listed on 16 October. All of this reflects the parties’ contentions as put in court; the Union’s position on the merits is not reported.
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The trip and its timeline
The delegation was to be in France from 15 to 21 October 2026 to promote trade. The State’s cooperative federation MARKFED had been allotted a stall in the India Pavilion of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) at SIAL Paris 2026, which runs from 17 to 21 October at Paris Nord Villepinte. As the petition tells it, the Personnel Department cleared the two officers on cadre grounds on 2 September, and APEDA confirmed the stall the next day.
The Department of Cooperation wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs on 3 and 8 September, and the State filed its online political clearance application on 9 September, 36 days before departure. The e-Pol Clearance portal marked the application “DENIED”.
Federal principles in the petition
Political clearance for foreign travel by State office-bearers is granted by the Ministry of External Affairs. The petition leans on federal principles and on decisions including S.R. Bommai, Maneka Gandhi, Satwant Singh Sawhney and the 2023 Constitution Bench judgment on the Government of NCT of Delhi. Its argument is that if the Union must respect constitutional limits in Delhi, the principle applies with greater force to a full State. How the High Court dealt with these points is yet to be seen.
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What to watch in the detailed order
At stake is whether the Union can refuse political clearance to a State’s Chief Minister without recorded reasons, a question of Centre-State balance that the two governments have framed differently. When the detailed order is available, it will show whether the decision rests on the facts of this visit or lays down wider limits on how clearance may be denied.
Case Title: State of Punjab v. Union of India (title and case number not available; working title)
Bench: Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya, Punjab and Haryana High Court
Date of Order: October 16, 2026
Appearances: Senior Advocate and Additional Advocate General Chanchal Singla for the State of Punjab; Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain for the Union of India (as at the hearing of October 15)