The Punjab government has appointed 1992-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Gaurav Yadav as the state’s regular Director General of Police (DGP), ending a prolonged period in which he held the post in an officiating capacity. The appointment was announced through an official order on Friday and follows a push from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to resolve the uncertainty surrounding the state’s top police position. Yadav had been serving as the officiating DGP since July 2022 under the Bhagwant Mann-led government. His appointment as regular police chief formalises his position after more than two years in the interim role. The extended arrangement had kept the status of the state’s top police appointment under scrutiny, with the High Court pressing the government to address the delay and settle the matter.

According to the official order, Yadav will have a minimum tenure of two years from the date he assumes charge as the regular DGP. The tenure provision establishes a defined period for his leadership of the Punjab Police, subject to applicable service rules and conditions. The order marks a formal change in his appointment status, replacing the officiating arrangement that had continued since July 2022. The High Court’s intervention was a key development leading up to the appointment. The prolonged continuation of an officiating police chief had raised questions about when the state would complete the process for appointing a regular DGP.

The court’s push brought renewed attention to the issue and the need for the government to resolve the uncertainty surrounding the position. The latest order brings that extended period of interim leadership to an end. The appointment also places renewed focus on the process used to select state police chiefs. The position of DGP carries responsibility for leading the police force and overseeing law-enforcement operations across the state. A regular appointment provides formal clarity over the leadership role, while a specified minimum tenure offers a defined period in which the officer can continue in the position. The available information, however, does not provide details of the selection procedure followed in Yadav’s case or the full circumstances behind the delay.

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Yadav, a member of the 1992 IPS batch, has led the Punjab Police in an officiating capacity during the Mann government’s tenure. His elevation to the regular post does not involve a change in the officer heading the force; instead, it formalises the position he has occupied since July 2022. The government order specifies that his minimum two-year tenure will begin from the date he assumes charge as the regular DGP. The appointment comes at a time when police leadership and administrative accountability remain important issues for state governments. The DGP’s office is central to coordinating policing across districts, supervising senior officers and overseeing the implementation of law-enforcement priorities.

Formalising the appointment establishes a clear tenure framework for the state’s police leadership, although the order itself does not outline any new operational policy or changes to the force’s existing responsibilities. The High Court’s push and the government’s subsequent order together bring an end to the prolonged uncertainty over Punjab’s top police post. Yadav’s regular appointment provides formal confirmation of his role and sets a minimum tenure of two years from the date he takes charge. The move concludes the extended officiating arrangement that began in July 2022 and gives the state a regular DGP under the terms specified in the official order.

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