Punjab appoints IPS officer Gaurav Yadav as regular DGP after four years in officiating charge

The Punjab government on Friday made 1992-batch IPS officer Gaurav Yadav the regular Director General of Police (Head of Police Force), formally ending the long officiating arrangement under which he had been leading the state police for more than four years. Yadav took charge the same day.

The appointment was notified through an order dated October 9, 2026, issued by the Department of Home Affairs (Home-I Branch) in the name of the Governor of Punjab. The order, signed by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Alok Shekhar, said that on the basis of the panel received from the Union Public Service Commission, the Governor had appointed Shri Gaurav Yadav, IPS (RR:1992), as Director General of Police (Head of Police Force), Punjab.

His tenure will be for a minimum of two years from the date he assumes charge, in keeping with the Supreme Court’s directions of September 22, 2006, and July 3, 2018, in Prakash Singh and Others versus Union of India and Others. Those rulings, delivered in the context of police reforms, require a fixed minimum term for the state police chief so that the post is not left vulnerable to frequent or arbitrary transfers.

UPSC panel and selection

The Union Public Service Commission had empanelled three officers through its letter dated July 1, 2026 (No. 13/15/2026-AIS), after the Punjab government sent a list of 14 senior IPS officers. All three shortlisted officers were from the 1992 batch.

The panel consisted of Dr Sharad Satya Chauhan, born on March 3, 1968; Harpreet Singh Sidhu, born on May 9, 1967; and Gaurav Yadav, born on April 16, 1969. The state government chose Yadav from this panel.

Four years in an officiating role

Yadav had first been given additional charge of the post on July 4, 2022, and assumed charge as officiating DGP the next day. At the time, he was serving as Special DGP (Administration) and Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

The arrangement followed the proceeding on leave of then regular DGP Viresh Kumar Bhawra, a 1987-batch IPS officer. In September 2022, Bhawra was shifted to the Punjab Police Housing Corporation, while Yadav continued to head the force in an officiating capacity.

Judicial scrutiny over delay

The regular appointment comes after judicial scrutiny over the delay in naming a permanent police chief. On October 1, 2026, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor directed the state to take a decision on appointing a regular DGP while hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate Nikhil Thamman.

The court observed that an ad hoc arrangement should not continue indefinitely and sought a compliance affidavit from Chief Secretary K.A.P. Sinha by October 13. The government order was issued four days before that deadline.

The Supreme Court had also taken note of delays by states in appointing regular DGPs under the Prakash Singh framework. Punjab was included in those proceedings in March 2026. The state proposal reached the UPSC on April 6, 2026, and the Commission forwarded its panel on July 1.

Yadav assumes charge

After the order was issued, Punjab Police said Yadav had assumed charge as Director General of Police (Head of Police Force). He later called on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and briefed him on the state’s internal security situation and law and order. The Chief Secretary was also present.

In a post on X, Yadav said he had met the Chief Minister and briefed him on the internal security scenario and law and order in the state. He added that Punjab Police remained committed to maintaining peace, harmony and public safety, and to helping build a safe, secure and drug-free Punjab.

Background of the new police chief

Yadav is 57 and joined the IPS on October 11, 1992, as a direct recruit of the Punjab cadre. Over the years, he has headed the Punjab Police Intelligence Wing, from 2016 to 2017, and has also served in the modernisation wing, apart from holding senior administrative assignments.

He has received two major police honours: the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2008 and the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2015.

Yadav’s academic background includes a Bachelor of Engineering, a Master of Engineering, a Master of Arts in Public Administration, a doctorate, and a postgraduate qualification in Journalism and Mass Communication from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. He was born on April 16, 1969, in Belapar village in Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh and is the son of the late Colonel Bhagwati Prasad Yadav, a retired Army officer.

The regular appointment gives statutory stability to the leadership of a police force dealing with organised crime, gangster networks and cross-border drug trafficking, after more than four years of interim charge at the top.