The process of appointing a regular DGP has been initiated by the Tamil Nadu government after the Supreme Court gave it a week’s time on Thursday to replace the acting DGP with a superior officer to represent it in the UPSC empanelment committee. According to the apex court orders, the entire process has to be completed within three weeks.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has been given two weeks’ time to complete the process of empanelment after receiving the list of eligible officers from the state govt in a week.
It has led senior bureaucrats of the state to return to the negotiation table and finalise a fresh panel of eligible officers to be forwarded to the UPSC for empanelment.
The top court’s Thursday orders came on a contempt petition contending that the Tamil Nadu govt had violated the apex court’s guidelines in the appointment of DGP.
After receiving the panel of DGP-rank officers from the Tamil Nadu govt., the UPSC will shortlist three names and forward it to the state to appoint one of them as DGP/HoPF. The new DGP will have a minimum tenure of two years, irrespective of the date of superannuation, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s guidelines laid down in the Prakash Singh case.
Among the top three contenders, according to seniority, are Seema Agrawal (IPS:1990:TN), Rajeev Kumar (IPS:1992:TN), and Sandeep Rai Rathore (IPS:1992:TN). These three had also been earlier shortlisted by the UPSC when the state govt sent its list in October 2025.
But the state govt did not select any of them and allowed G. Venkatraman (IPS:1994:TN) to continue as DGP in charge, stating that the three names shortlisted by the UPSC were not acceptable to it. The Tamil Nadu govt accused the Union Government of attempting to appoint an officer of its choice as DGP.
Official sources believe there should be no change in the eligibility status of the top three officers. Despite the fact that a minimum residual service of six months is generally required for consideration for the post of DGP/HoPF, Seema Agrawal, who has about four months of service remaining, may still qualify because the residual service is calculated from the date the vacancy arose, which is September 1, 2025.
Other DGP-rank officers currently working in the state, in order of seniority, include K. Vanniaperumal, Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, G. Venkatraman, Vinit Dev Wankhede, Sanjay Mathur, S. Davidson Devasirvatham, Sandeep Mittal, and Bala Naga Devi.
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