Punjab govt to send its panel to UPSC for DGP appointment soon

The Punjab government is reportedly soon going to send a list of eligible IPS officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the purpose of appointing a regular DGP. The state govt has been working with the acting DGP for the last nearly four years, as the Bhagwant Mann govt did not forward a panel to the UPSC since it came to power in 2022.

The Chief Minister confirmed the news to the media, saying his govt is in the process of sending a panel to the UPSC.

The Supreme Court had slammed several states, including Punjab, for having acting DGPs and directed them to initiate the process of appointing regular DGPs, following which the UPSC wrote twice, on February 18 and March 5, to the state govt asking it to send the panel for empanelment for a regular DGP’s appointment. UPSC secretary Shashi Ranjan Kumar had asked state Chief Secretary K A P Sinha to personally examine the matter and instruct the officials concerned to send the panel.

Soon after coming to power, the AAP government appointed Gaurav Yadav (IPS:1992:PB) as an acting DGP in July 2022, superseding many senior officers, including Sharad Satya Chauhan and Harpreet Singh Sidhu from the same batch but senior to him.

Interestingly, the Punjab assembly even passed the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill 2023, with the purpose of selecting a regular DGP on its own through a state-controlled seven-member Empanelment Committee. But the bill has been lying with the President for approval after being referred by the Governor.

In the meantime, Sanjeev Kalra (IPS:1989:PB) retired on February 28 this year while serving as DGP (Home Guards and Civil Defence). Another senior officer, Parag Jain (IPS:1989:PB), is presently on central deputation, serving as chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

According to the established rules, the UPSC’s Empanelment Committee selects three candidates based on seniority, experience, and service records from the panel of eligible officers sent by the state. The state then chooses one of them as DGP.

The state govt has also requested the UPSC to allow the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to replace acting DGP Yadav on its Empanelment Committee, since he is one of the contenders for the post.