After a four-year gap, the Punjab government is preparing for the regular appointment of the Director General of Police (DGP) in the state. The government is set to send the names of 14 senior IPS officers to the UPSC for consideration.
The officers under consideration include the current acting DGP, Gaurav Yadav (1992 batch), along with Sharad Satyar Chauhan, Kuldeep Singh, and Harpreet Singh Sidhu. It is expected that this process will be completed soon.
The panel submitted to the government is categorized into three groups:
- 1992 batch: Gaurav Yadav (current acting DGP), Sharad Satyar Chauhan, Kuldeep Singh, Harpreet Singh Sidhu
- 1993 batch: Gurpreet Kaur Deo, Jatinder Kumar Jain, Shashi Prabha Dwivedi
- 1994 batch: Sudhanshu Shekhar Srivastava, Praveen Kumar Sinha, Amardeep Singh Ray, V. Neerja, Anita Punj, Naresh Kumar, Ram Singh
Earlier, Samant Goel (1989 batch) expressed willingness for the post, while Arpit Shukla and Ishwar Singh became ineligible due to nearing retirement.
A committee is formed to review the panel, consisting of the UPSC Chairperson, the Central Home Secretary or representative, the state Chief Secretary, the current state DGP, and the head of a central police organization not related to the state cadre. The committee finalizes three names, which are sent to the government for approval.
In February and March 2026, the Supreme Court raised strong objections to the prolonged continuation of an “acting” DGP. Following reminders from UPSC, the Punjab government has now submitted a fresh panel, adhering to UPSC norms.
On March 30, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann publicly confirmed that the government is following UPSC rules and the panel submission process is underway. This is the first time in four years (since 2022) that a panel for the DGP post has been sent to UPSC. Previously, the government had sought to influence the appointment through its own amendment bill, which is still pending.
V.K. Bhawra was appointed as the permanent DGP in Punjab previously. In 2023, the current Aam Aadmi Party government passed the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, aiming to facilitate state-level DGP appointments instead of relying entirely on the UPSC process. However, the bill is still awaiting presidential approval.
