The Punjab government has filed a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court contesting a Union government decision that withheld political clearance for Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's planned state visit to France. State authorities have characterised the decision as lacking justification, pointing to the Ministry of External Affairs' failure to provide reasons for rejecting the application.
Mann had been scheduled to lead a delegation to SIAL Paris 2026, a global food trade exhibition running from 17 to 21 October. The six-day trip, planned from 15 to 21 October, was designed to open avenues for Punjab's agricultural output on international markets, develop trade ties abroad, and identify new export opportunities for the state's cooperative sector.
Punjab's 56-page petition to the court challenged the Ministry of External Affairs' ruling on the proposed visit. The state's legal filing centred on the involvement of MARKFED — the Punjab State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited — a cooperative body operating among the state's larger agricultural trading organisations.
The petition states that APEDA — a body under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry — had allocated a dedicated booth for MARKFED within the India Pavilion it operates at the exhibition. The Department of Cooperation pursued political clearance by submitting written requests on 3 and 8 September before lodging an online application the following day, according to the state government.
The state's position was that prior consultation with the diplomatic mission in France had taken place and that both administrative and cadre-level clearances had been secured. Punjab also noted that MARKFED would absorb all expenses associated with the delegation's trip, leaving no financial obligation for the central government.
Despite the state government's account that all required formalities had been fulfilled, the application returned with a rejection status on the ministry's online portal, with no reason offered and no avenue provided for the state to respond.
At the heart of the petition is a claim that the ruling encroached upon state executive power under Article 162 of the Constitution and the applicable provisions of the Seventh Schedule. The state administration further contended that withholding the permission weakened Punjab's standing within India's federal framework by curtailing the province's constitutionally recognised scope to carry out trade promotion activities.
The state government filed for expedited court review, citing the delegation's planned 15 October departure as the basis for the urgency. The dispute has placed the Punjab government's relationship with the Centre under fresh scrutiny, with the question of how far state administrations can act independently in overseas trade and investment matters now before the court.
