Upsc Meets To Finalise Panel For Punjab Dgp

Senior government functionaries privy to the development said three 1992-batch IPS officers — incumbent acting DGP Gaurav Yadav, Sharad Satya Chauhan and Harpreet Singh Sidhu — are likely to figure on the list that will be sent to the state government in the next couple of days.

Parag Jain, a 1989-batch IPS from Punjab cadre, is heading R&AW (Research & Analysis Wing), the country’s external intelligence agency, and is said to have expressed inability to join the parent cadre. Chauhan, who is posted as chief director of Vigilance Bureau, is the senior-most IPS officer serving in the state, followed by his batchmate Harpreet Sidhu who has been without a posting since returning from central deputation about a year ago. Yadav is third in seniority in the batch, followed by another 1992-batch officer, Kuldeep Singh, who is posted as special DGP of Anti Narcotics Task Force (ANTF).

The meeting was chaired by the UPSC chairman. Under per the prescribed procedure, the Punjab chief secretary and the serving DGP were expected to participate, but only chief secretary KAP Sinha attended the meeting. Acting DGP Gaurav Yadav stayed away as he is himself a contender for the post.

“According to the procedure adopted by the UPSC in several recent DGP appointments, the panel is generally prepared on the basis of seniority, provided there is no major controversy or disciplinary proceedings pending against an officer. Accordingly, the expected panel is likely to comprise the three senior-most eligible officers of the 1992 batch,” a senior Punjab functionary said while requesting anonymity.

The Punjab government had earlier forwarded the names of all eligible DGP-rank officers to the UPSC, which is mandated by the Supreme Court guidelines to recommend a panel of three officers from which the state government makes the final appointment.

“If everything goes well, the UPSC may send the panel to the state government in a day or two,” another senior official said.

Punjab has been functioning with an officiating DGP since July 2022, when Gaurav Yadav was given the additional charge after the then DGP stepped down. He was later appointed as the officiating DGP and has continued in that capacity for nearly four years.

The appointment of a regular DGP was delayed because the state government had not initiated the process of sending eligible officers’ names to the UPSC for empanelment, a mandatory requirement under the Supreme Court’s directions in the Prakash Singh police reforms case.

Sources in the government maintained that if the panel comes on the expected lines, officiating DGP Gaurav Yadav is set to take over as regular DGP as he is considered the best suited for the job citing his administrative experience as acting head of the police force.

Ravinder Vasudeva is a principal correspondent who writes for the Punjab bureau of Hindustan Times.