The tenure of the incumbent, Shankar Jiwal, comes to an end on August 31.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO
The Tamil Nadu government has decided to send a list of eligible officers of the rank of Director-General of Police to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for shortlisting a panel to appoint the next DGP/Head of Police Force.
Initiating the process in compliance with the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in the Prakash Singh case relating to the appointment of DGPs, the Home Department has sought the willingness of the officers to head the force.
Revised guidelines
The tenure of the incumbent, Shankar Jiwal, comes to an end on August 31. The selection of officers will also be in tune with the revised guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
According to the new rule, only officers of the rank of DGP in the Level-16 pay matrix will be eligible. Earlier, all IPS officers who had completed 30 years of service were entitled to be included in the list.
The UPSC empanelment committee — headed by its chairperson and comprising the Union Home Secretary, the Chief Secretary, the DGP of the State concerned, and an officer from among the Heads of Central Police Organisations/Central paramilitary forces — would shortlist three officers and send their names to Tamil Nadu for immediate appointment of one of them as the DGP/Head of Police Force.
Order of seniority
In the order of seniority, DGPs Seema Agrawal, Rajeev Kumar, and Sandeep Rai Rathore top the list of 8 officers. All the three officers have had a stint in the Central government on deputation.
DGPs Pramod Kumar and Abhay Kumar Singh may not be considered as they have less than six months of service left. The list of eligible officers, which should have been sent three months before the vacancy was to come up (August 30, 2025), was expected to be dispatched this week, sources in the police headquarters said.
Facing criticism
The appointment of the new DGP assumes significance as Tamil Nadu heads to the Assembly election early next year. The Police Department is also facing severe criticism from various quarters for several instances of alleged custodial death or torture. The latest was the custodial death of B. Ajith Kumar in Sivaganga district. This case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
One of the criteria set by the Ministry of Home Affairs in its revised guidelines is that an officer, being considered for the top post, should be have served 10 years in Law and Order, the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department, the Crime Against Women Cell, the Economic Offences Wing, the Cyber Crimes Cell, the Government Railway Police, Anti-Corruption/Vigilance, Intelligence/Special Branch, the Counter/Anti-Terror Unit, Security, and in Central agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau, the Research and Analysis Wing, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the National Investigation Agency, on deputation.
Published – July 20, 2025 09:35 pm IST
