Punjab govt moves high court over Centres refusal to CM Manns proposed France visit
According to the government, the application status on the ministry’s online portal was simply marked as “Denied”.
PTC News Desk: The Punjab government has approached the High Court after the Centre refused to approve Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s proposed visit to France. On Thursday, the state government challenged the Ministry of External Affairs’ decision, alleging that permission was denied without giving any reason, despite completing all the required formalities.
According to the government, the application status on the ministry’s online portal was simply marked as “Denied”. Taking up the matter urgently, the High Court directed the Centre to submit its response by Friday morning.
According to the Punjab government’s petition, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary were scheduled to visit France from October 15 to 21. The delegation was to attend SIAL Paris 2026, an international food trade exhibition being held in Paris from October 17 to 21.
The purpose of the visit was to explore international business opportunities for Punjab’s agricultural and food-processing products. The petition stated that the Punjab State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited (Markfed) had been allotted a stall at the exhibition in the India Pavilion organised by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). APEDA operates under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Punjab government said Markfed was to bear the entire cost of the delegation’s visit.
Approval process started in September
According to the petition, the state government sent letters to the Ministry of External Affairs on September 3 and 8 seeking political clearance. An online application was also submitted on September 9.
The government said the approval process had started around five weeks before the planned visit. The petition further stated that administrative approval and cadre clearance had been completed after consultations with the Indian mission in France. Despite this, the application was marked as rejected on the ministry’s online portal.
The Punjab government alleged that the Ministry of External Affairs did not explain why permission had been denied. It also claimed that the state was not given an opportunity to present its case.
Calling the decision arbitrary, the government has asked the High Court to quash the order and grant appropriate relief to allow the France visit. The delegation was scheduled to leave for France on October 15. With the departure date approaching, the state government requested an urgent hearing. The High Court has directed the Centre to file its response by Friday morning. The next step will depend on the Centre’s reply to the petition.