CHANDIGARH: After more than four years, Punjab has appointed a regular Director General of Police (DGP), with 1992-batch IPS officer Gaurav Yadav, who was holding additional charge, named the permanent state police chief, ending years of uncertainty.
The state Home Department issued orders on the appointment after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann gave his in-principle approval on Tuesday.
The formal announcement was expected before the October 13 deadline set by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for the state to submit its compliance report. The deadline followed a Public Interest Litigation filed by advocate Nikhil Thamman, challenging the prolonged continuation of an additional-charge arrangement for the post.
On October 1, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor directed the state to take an appropriate decision on appointing a regular DGP. The court also asked Chief Secretary KAP Sinha to submit a compliance affidavit by the next hearing on October 13.
In July, the state government received a panel of three shortlisted officers from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the post. Besides Yadav, the panel included his batchmates Sharad Satya Chauhan, DGP-cum-Chief Director of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, and Harpreet Singh Sidhu.
Chauhan was the senior-most of the three officers. Sidhu, who returned to his parent cadre last year after serving on central deputation as Additional DGP of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Guwahati, has been awaiting a posting in Punjab.
Yadav has been functioning as the officiating DGP since July 2022, after then police chief V K Bhawra went on leave. Yadav is due to retire on April 30, 2029, Chauhan on March 31, 2028, and Sidhu on May 31, 2027.
On February 18, the UPSC initiated the selection process by seeking a proposal of eligible officers from Punjab. This followed the Supreme Court’s February 5 criticism of several states, including Punjab, for relying on acting DGPs. The apex court reiterated the need for strict compliance with the UPSC-led appointment process laid down in the landmark Prakash Singh reforms case.
The state government subsequently sent a panel of 14 senior IPS officers to the UPSC to shortlist three candidates for the post. Punjab had earlier been reluctant to submit a panel despite reminders from the commission.
In 2023, the state government passed the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, empowering the state to appoint the DGP through a separate state-level committee. However, the Bill did not receive the President’s assent.