By Vijay Kumar
Copyright thehindu
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will convene the much-awaited Empanelment Committee Meeting (ECM) in New Delhi on September 26, 2025, to shortlist three Director-General of Police (DGP)-rank officers for appointment as DGP/Head of Police Force (HoPF) in Tamil Nadu, police sources said on Monday (September 15, 2025).
The ECM will be chaired by the UPSC Chairman and will include the Union Home Secretary, the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu, and an officer nominated by the Ministry of Home Affairs from among the heads of Central Police Organisations or Central Armed Police Forces, provided the officer does not belong to the cadre from which the DGP appointment is being made.
Normally, the incumbent State DGP also sits on the panel, but in this case, only the Chief Secretary will participate since G. Venkatraman, the in-charge DGP/HoPF, is himself a candidate to the top post, the sources added.
The committee will finalise a panel of three DGP-rank officers, from which one will be appointed as regular DGP/HoPF for a minimum tenure of two years, regardless of the date of superannuation. Based on seniority, Seema Agrawal, Rajeev Kumar, and Sandeep Rai Rathore top the list of eight officers forwarded to the UPSC.
The other names are K. Vannia Perumal, Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, G. Venkatraman, Vinit Dev Wankhede, and Sanjay Mathur. Although DGPs Pramod Kumar and Abhay Kumar Singh have expressed willingness to be considered, they are unlikely to be shortlisted as they have less than six months of service left.
The push to appoint a regular DGP/HoPF gathered momentum after a contempt of court case was filed in the Supreme Court against the Tamil Nadu government for not complying with its directions in the Prakash Singh case.
The State had argued the appointment was held up due to an officer’s petition before the Central Administrative Tribunal seeking inclusion of his name in the panel. However, his petition was dismissed on April 30, 2025. Disposing of the case, the apex court on September 9, 2025, requested the UPSC to take up the matter “expeditiously.” Once the UPSC finalises the panel, the State government was told to appoint a regular DGP without any delay.
This year, as part of a new Single Window System introduced by the UPSC for DGP empanelments, State Chief Secretaries must certify officers’ eligibility and sign an Integrity Certificate before the ECM. “If the three names are finalised on September 26, the State government will issue orders immediately. Even if there is a delay of a day or two, a regular DGP could be in place by October 1, 2025,” a senior police officer said.
