Following the Supreme Court’s strict warnings regarding the prolonged use of an “acting” DGP, the Punjab government seems to have decided to expedite the process of appointing a regular DGP in the state. The state govt has reportedly prepared its panel of 14 senior IPS officers for this purpose and is expected to submit it to the UPSC soon.
The UPSC will shortlist three names from this panel, one of whom will be appointed as the regular DGP by the state govt. As per SC guidelines, the regular DGP will have a minimum tenure of two years.
Punjab has had an acting DGP since July 2022 after Gaurav Yadav (IPS:1992:PB) was appointed to that position soon after the current govt took office, and he has held the position continuously since then.
The state govt has not sent a panel for DGP appointment to the UPSC since the Bhagwant Mann govt assumed power in the state in March 2022.
According to reports, the panel prepared by the govt comprises IPS officers from the 1992, 1993, and 1994 batches. Among the officers of the 1992 batch are acting DGP Gaurav Yadav, Special DGP of the Punjab Police Housing Corporation Sharad Satya Chauhan, Anti Narcotics Task Force’s Special DGP Kuldeep Singh, and IPS officer awaiting posting Harpreet Singh Siddhu.
Similarly, the names of the IPS officers from the 1993 batch in the panel include Special DGP of Community Affairs Division and Women Affairs Gurpreet Kaur Deo, Special DGP of Punjab State Power Corporation Dr. Jitendra Kumar Jain, and Special DGP of Railways Shashi Prabha Dwivedi.
The 1994 batch officers included in the panel are Special DGP (Headquarters) Sudhanshu Shekhar Srivastava, Special DGP- cum- Chief Director of Vigilance Bureau Pravin Kumar Sinha, Special DGP of Traffic and Road Safety Amandeep Singh Rai, Special DGP of the Cyber Crime Branch Varun Neraja, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy’s Director Anita Punj, Special DGP (Human Rights) Naresh Kumar, and Technical Services’ Special DGP Ram Singh.
The Punjab govt initiated the process following pressure from the Supreme Court, which took a firm stance on the issue on Feb. 5, directing states to adopt a process for appointing regular DGPs and directing the UPSC to take action. The govt was asked to submit a proposal within 10 days, but the delay was a factor.
It should be mentioned here that the state govt had tried to adopt its own procedure, citing the Punjab Police Amendment Bill passed in 2023. However, on March 12, the Supreme Court rejected this argument and clarified that the DGP would be appointed through the UPSC process. It was after that the state govt decided to expedite the process.
Join Us on WhatsApp