The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday asked the Punjab government to expedite the process of appointing a regular Director General of Police (DGP) in the State [Nikhil Thamman v State of Punjab & Ors].

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor passed the order on a petition filed by advocate Nikhil Thamman who said that the State has been without a regular head of police force since 2022.

The plea before the Court stated that in accordance with Supreme Court directions, the DGP is required to be selected by the State government from amongst the three senior-most officers empanelled for promotion to that rank by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) based on their length of service, very good record and range of experience for heading the police force.

A minimum tenure of two years was intended to bring stability and continuity to the police leadership and reduce arbitrary and frequent changes to the highest office, the petitioner argued.

However, the plea added that Punjab has had an additional-charge arrangement for the post of head of police force since DGP Gaurav Yadav was given the charge, in addition to his duties as Special DGP, Administration, Punjab.

"The continuation of such an arrangement for years together is fundamentally different from a brief and unavoidable stop-gap arrangement necessitated by an unforeseen vacancy," the plea said.

Thamman also told the Court that the State government had already received a panel of officers for the selection of the DGP but no action was towards making a regular appointment.

An affidavit filed before the High Court by the State revealed that the panel is under active consideration of the government. Considering the same, the Court directed the State to comply with the Supreme Court mandate and file a compliance affidavit by October 13.

Additional Advocate General Chanchal K Singla represented the State.