The Punjab government on Friday appointed 1992-batch IPS officer Gaurav Yadav as the regular Director General of Police (Head of Police Force), ending an officiating arrangement under which he had headed the state police for more than four years. He assumed charge the same day.
The appointment was made by an order issued on October 9, 2026, by the Department of Home Affairs (Home-I Branch) in the name of the Governor of Punjab. The order was signed by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Alok Shekhar. It states that, on consideration of the panel received from the Union Public Service Commission, the Governor was pleased to appoint 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 of assumption of charge, in line 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 directions, issued in a case on police reforms, require a fixed minimum tenure for the state police chief so that the post is not subject to frequent or arbitrary change.
UPSC panel
The UPSC had empanelled three officers through its letter dated July 1, 2026 (No. 13/15/2026-AIS), drawn from a list of 14 senior IPS officers sent by the state government. All three belong to the 1992 batch:
- Dr Sharad Satya Chauhan (date of birth: March 3, 1968)
- Harpreet Singh Sidhu (date of birth: May 9, 1967)
- Gaurav Yadav (date of birth: April 16, 1969)
The state government selected Yadav from this panel.
Officiating arrangement since 2022
Yadav was given additional charge of the post on July 4, 2022, and assumed charge as officiating DGP the following day. He was then Special DGP (Administration) and Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The arrangement followed the proceeding on leave of the 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.
Court scrutiny
The regular appointment comes amid judicial scrutiny of the delay. 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 ought not to 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 date.
The Supreme Court had also taken note of delays by states in appointing regular DGPs under the Prakash Singh framework. In March 2026, Punjab was included in those proceedings. The state proposal reached the UPSC on April 6, 2026, and the Commission forwarded its panel on July 1.
Assumption of charge
After the order was issued, Punjab Police stated that Yadav had assumed charge as Director General of Police (Head of Police Force). He called on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and briefed him on the internal security situation and law and order. The Chief Secretary was also present.
In a post on X, Yadav said he had called on 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.
Officer’s background
Yadav, 57, joined the IPS on October 11, 1992, as a direct recruit of the Punjab cadre. He has headed the Punjab Police Intelligence Wing (2016–17) and served in the modernisation wing, besides senior administrative assignments. He was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2008 and the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2015.
He holds 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 force engaged with organised crime, gangster networks and cross-border drug trafficking, after more than four years of an officiating arrangement at the top.
