Punjab appoints Gaurav Yadav regular DGP after High Court push

Punjab has appointed Gaurav Yadav as its regular Director General of Police after over two years in an officiating role. The move follows a High Court prod and ends a prolonged ad hoc arrangement atop the state police force.Chandigarh,Oct 9, 2026 14:28 ISTThe Punjab government on Friday appointed 1992-batch IPS officer Gaurav Yadav as the regular Director General of Police, ending prolonged uncertainty over the post, according to an official order.The order said Yadav, who had been serving as the officiating DGP since July 2022 under the Bhagwant Mann government, will have a minimum tenure of two years from the date he assumes charge of the office.The appointment comes days after the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while hearing a PIL, directed the state to take an appropriate decision on appointing a regular DGP. The court observed that an ad hoc arrangement ought not to be allowed for an indefinite period and fixed the next hearing in the matter for October 13. The petitioner had submitted that the post of DGP had continued to be held through an arrangement of additional charge since July 2022.After the state government issued the order on Friday, Punjab Police said in a post on X that Gaurav Yadav had assumed charge as Director General of Police, Head of Police Force, Punjab. Yadav was among the three officers empanelled by the Union Public Service Commission for appointment as the regular DGP from a panel of 14 senior IPS officers sent by the state government. Special DGP Sharad Satya Chauhan and senior IPS officer Harpreet Singh Sidhu were the other two officers on the UPSC panel.According to the order issued by the state Home Department, the UPSC, through its letter dated July 1, empanelled three IPS officers from the panel sent by the state government as suitable for appointment to the post of DGP. The order said Yadav's appointment as head of the state police force was made after considering the panel received from the UPSC. Under the process, once a state sends a list of officers for appointing a regular DGP, the UPSC empanelment committee returns a panel of three officers, from which one is chosen as the state police chief. With Friday's order, Yadav has been appointed Punjab's regular DGP after serving in the role in an officiating capacity since July 2022, following the UPSC empanelment process and the recent court direction on the issue.- Ends