Chandigarh: Two chief ministers from two neighbouring states. Two foreign trips. But only one went.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini is in Sweden, after a visit to Singapore earlier this month. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was to be in Paris. But he did not get the Centre’s political clearance, and his government has now gone to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
On Friday, the Centre gave its answer. In an affidavit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Mann was refused permission because of security, protocol and the lack of a formal invitation from the French government, confirmed Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain, when contacted by ThePrint.
Saini’s tours
Saini was in Singapore from 4 to 6 October. He reached Sweden on 14 October for a visit that ends on 17 October. Saini’s office says the agenda includes defence manufacturing, automobiles, renewable energy, real estate and home furnishings.
At the India-Sweden Innovation Day, where he was chief guest, Saini said India-Sweden trade had grown from USD 2.86 billion in 2016 to USD 7.75 billion in 2025. According to a Haryana government statement, Saini listed Swedish investments in Haryana, including IKEA’s Rs 3,500-crore project in Gurugram and a Carl-Gustaf manufacturing facility coming up at MET City, Jhajjar, and a Kunskapsskolan school in Gurugram since 2013. Saini also invited guests to the Happening Haryana Global Investors Summit 2027.
The Punjab plan
Mann was to lead the Punjab team to Paris from 15 to 21 October. Chief Secretary K. A. P. Sinha and Principal Secretary to the CM Ravi Bhagat were to go with him. The event was SIAL Paris 2026, a food trade show held 17 to 21 October once in two years.
MARKFED, Punjab’s apex cooperative marketing body, got an 18-square-metre stall in the India Pavilion of APEDA, a Union Commerce Ministry body. The Punjab government’s petition says MARKFED was to pay for the whole trip.
The itinerary called for the delegation to leave Delhi 15 October and meet the Punjabi diaspora on 16 October. The fair opens 17 October. Meetings with trade bodies and importers were planned for 18 and 20 October, and a meeting with the Indian Ambassador on 20 October.
The denial
Punjab filed its application on the MEA’s e-Pol Clearance portal on 9 September. That was 36 days before departure. Its Department of Cooperation had already written to the MEA on 3 and 8 September.
The portal printout shows the status as “Denied”. The only remark reads: “Ministry of External Affairs has examined the proposal. Clearance from political angle is declined.”
The petition says the MEA never asked a question, never pointed out a flaw and never replied to the state’s letters.
Punjab wants the denial quashed and clearance granted. Alternatively, it wants the MEA to reconsider within 24 hours through a reasoned order, after hearing the state. It also seeks interim clearance while the case is pending.
Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya heard the matter Thursday and asked the Union Government to respond by Friday. Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain appeared for the Union.
Additional Advocate General Chanchal Singla, appearing for Punjab, told the court the Centre was discriminating against the state. Punjab is ruled by the Aam Aadmi Party. Haryana’s Chief Minister Saini, who belongs to the BJP, had also sought permission to travel abroad recently and was allowed, he said.
What Punjab argued
‘No reason’
A decision that affects a party must state its reasons, the state says, citing the Supreme Court in Mohinder Singh Gill and Kranti Associates.
‘No law behind it’
Political clearance rests only on office memoranda of the Cabinet Secretariat and the MEA, the petition says. These set no criteria, no time limit and no appeal. Punjab cites Satwant Singh Sawhney and Article 21.
‘Our own field’
Promoting farm produce and a cooperative falls under Article 162 and the State List, the petition says. It adds that foreign affairs and foreign trade entries in the Union List do not apply, as Punjab signs no treaty.
‘Federalism’
The state cites Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s speech of November 25, 1949, S. R. Bommai and the 2023 Delhi services ruling.
‘Arbitrariness’
The Centre was approached about six weeks ahead, Punjab says. The petition says Finance Ministry instructions of 2019 and 2023 ask for proposals three weeks in advance. The Indian Mission had been consulted.
‘Earlier refusals’
The petition recalls that Mann was refused clearance for a Paris visit in August 2024. The reported reason was that arrangements for his Z-plus security could not be made at short notice. No such reason can exist now, it says.
It also lists refusals to the Punjab Assembly Speaker (August 2024), the Delhi Chief Minister (Copenhagen in 2019 and Singapore in 2022) and Kerala’s Health Minister (June 2024). It says Delhi minister Gopal Rai and Mayor Shelly Oberoi got clearance soon after they went to the Delhi High Court. In Punjab’s view, this pattern shows the refusals are not based on foreign policy.
The Centre’s reply
The affidavit, filed by Aayush Gupta, Under Secretary (Europe West) in the MEA, on behalf of the Union of India and the MEA makes the following points.
‘A matter for the MEA’
Political clearance is the MEA’s function under the Allocation of Business Rules, it says. Any dignitary abroad represents India, and foreign governments make no distinction between state and Central officials. The process rests on Cabinet Secretariat guidelines, first issued in 1982 and updated on 26 August 2010. An MEA portal has handled clearances since 2016.
‘Why no reasons on the portal’
The reply says it is the practice not to give the reason on the portal. At times, a visit is declined “from a political angle” because of “sensitive matters” that bear on bilateral relations and cannot be disclosed.
‘No formal invitation’
The affidavit says the Cabinet Secretariat’s instructions require ministerial visits abroad to be in response to formal invitations from the host government. It says no such invitation from the French government was brought to the MEA’s notice. Punjab’s petition, however, says documents titled “invitation” and “programme” were uploaded with its application.
‘Security’
The Centre says the Chief Minister’s presence is “not commensurate” with the nature and scale of the event. It calls SIAL a crowded fair where the Indian Embassy cannot control security or protocol. Host governments usually provide security and protocol only for official visits made on invitation, it says. The Embassy cannot order them to do so.
The affidavit adds that Punjab itself told the MEA that Mann faces serious threats to his life. It names outfits including Babbar Khalsa and Lashkar-e-Taiba, and radical elements based in Canada, the US, the UK and other European countries. Punjab had asked for comprehensive security cover for Paris. Without a proper invitation, such arrangements “are simply unavailable”, the reply says, and going ahead may expose the chief minister to “grave danger”.
‘No role for the CM’
The Centre says Mann would perform no functional role at the fair. It says it has already cleared two Punjab delegations. One is a three-member MARKFED team: Ajit Balaji Joshi, Administrative Secretary, Cooperation; Vishesh Sarangal, MARKFED Managing Director; and Simrandeep Singh, Additional Principal Secretary. The other is an investment promotion team of Basant Garg, Administrative Secretary; Amit Dhaka, CEO, Invest Punjab; and Jaspreet Singh, Director, Industries. The state’s interests in agriculture and food processing are not affected, as officials at the working level are present, the reply says.
‘No discrimination’
The Centre says Punjab has got clearances before, which should “set at rest” any charge of bias. It lists approvals for Mann’s visits to Finland, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Germany. The most recent are Finland and the Netherlands in April 2026.
‘Power to decline’
The MEA’s power to examine clearance includes the power to decline it, the affidavit says. Otherwise, the exercise would be an “academic formality”. The Centre says a visit under “sub-par conditions” would set a bad precedent. It argues the MEA acted prudently to protect Mann’s safety and the country’s dignity.
The Centre asks the court to dismiss the petition at the outset. It also asks the court to uphold the denial as a valid and non-arbitrary use of the Union’s executive power over foreign affairs and diplomatic protocol.
What next
Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya is hearing the matter. Punjab wants the denial quashed and clearance granted. Failing that, it wants the MEA to decide again within 24 hours through a reasoned order, after hearing the state. The Union is represented by ASG Satya Pal Jain.
The fair opens Saturday.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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