In a significant development, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will convene the Empanelment Committee Meeting (ECM) on September 26, 2025, in New Delhi to shortlist three senior IPS officers for appointment as the next Director General of Police (DGP) and Head of Police Force (HoPF) in Tamil Nadu, official sources confirmed.
The ECM will be chaired by the UPSC Chairman and include the Union Home Secretary, Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary N Muruganandam, and a senior officer nominated by the Ministry of Home Affairs from among Central Police Organisations or Central Armed Police Forces. Normally, the incumbent State DGP is part of the committee, but in this case, in-charge HoPF G Venkatraman (IPS:1994:TN) will not participate as he is himself in contention for the top post.
Top contenders
The Tamil Nadu government has forwarded eight names of eligible DGP-rank officers to the UPSC. Based on seniority, the frontrunners are:
- Seema Agrawal (IPS:1992:TN)
- Rajeev Kumar (IPS:1992:TN)
- Sandeep Rai Rathore (IPS:1992;TN)
The other officers in the reckoning are K Vanniaperumal (IPS:1992:TN), Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal (IPS:1994:TN), G Venkataraman (IPS:1994:TN), Vinit Dev Wankhede (IPS:1994:TN), and Sanjay Mathur (IPS:1994:TN). However, DGPs Pramod Kumar (IPS:1989:TN) and Abhay Kumar Singh (IPS:1992:TN) are unlikely to be considered as they have less than six months of service left from the date of vacancy. Pramod Kumar is set to retire on September 30, while Abhay Kumar Singh will hang up his boots on December 31.
If selected, Seema Agrawal would become only the second woman to head the Tamil Nadu Police, after Letika Saran, who served as DGP from January 2010 to March 2011.
Supreme Court pressure after delay
The process was delayed because the Tamil Nadu government did not forward the panel of eligible IPS officers to the UPSC three months before the retirement of former DGP Shankar Jiwal (IPS:1990:TN), as required under the Prakash Singh judgment. This lapse prevented the UPSC from preparing the selection panel on time and forced the government to appoint G. Venkatraman as in-charge HoPF from September 1.
The delay triggered a contempt petition in the Supreme Court, which on September 9, 2025, directed the UPSC to finalise the panel “expeditiously” and instructed the Tamil Nadu government to appoint a regular DGP without further delay. Earlier, the State had cited a case pending before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) as a reason for the hold-up, but that petition was dismissed on April 30, 2025.
New empanelment system
This year, the process will be conducted under the UPSC’s newly introduced Single Window System, under which State Chief Secretaries must certify the eligibility of officers and provide an Integrity Certificate before the ECM begins.
Once the UPSC finalises the three names on September 26, the Tamil Nadu government is expected to issue orders swiftly. Sources indicated that the State could have a full-time DGP in place by early October 2025.
Also Read: SC pulls up Tamil Nadu over acting DGP, directs UPSC to act fast
Also Read: IPS Pramod Kumar seeks SC relief on six-month rule in Tamil Nadu DGP selection
Join Us on WhatsApp