Selected from UPSC panel of three IPS officers; Home Department issues appointment order in the name of the Governor

Chandigarh, 09 October (H.S.): The Punjab government has appointed 1992-batch IPS officer Gaurav Yadav as the state’s regular Director General of Police (DGP) and Head of Police Force. His tenure will be for a minimum of two years from the date he assumes charge. He had been serving as the acting DGP of Punjab since July 5, 2022.

The decision comes days after the Punjab and Haryana High Court questioned the delay in appointing a regular DGP, despite the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) forwarding a panel of three eligible officers to the state government in July.

Hearing a public interest litigation seeking the appointment of a regular police chief, a bench comprising Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor observed that the DGP’s post was crucial to maintaining law and order. The court remarked that an ad hoc arrangement should not be allowed to continue indefinitely.

The High Court directed the state government to take an appropriate decision and asked the Chief Secretary to file an affidavit before the next hearing, scheduled for October 13.

According to the appointment order, Yadav’s tenure will be a minimum of two years from the date he assumes charge. His appointment was made from the panel of three IPS officers shortlisted by the UPSC for the post. Besides Yadav, the panel included Dr Sharad Satya Chauhan and Harpreet Singh Sidhu.

On July 1, 2026, the UPSC shortlisted these three officers as suitable candidates for the DGP’s post from the names forwarded by the Punjab government. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann subsequently approved Yadav’s appointment as regular DGP on Thursday.

Born on April 16, 1969, Yadav belongs to the 1992 batch of the Indian Police Service. Before his regular appointment, he had held several important responsibilities in the Punjab Police and served as the state’s acting police chief for more than four years.

The Home Department’s order also refers to the Supreme Court’s directions dated September 22, 2006, and July 3, 2018, concerning police reforms in the case of Prakash Singh and Others versus Union of India and Others.

The appointment order bears the signature of Alok Shekhar, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department. Yadav’s appointment as regular DGP marks a formal change in the leadership arrangement of the Punjab Police, following the state government’s decision to appoint a permanent police chief.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH