Tue, May 26, 2026
Tamil Nadu Set To Get Regular DGP As UPSC Clears Panel Of 3 Senior IPS Officers
The development comes after the state government submitted a revised list of eligible IPS officers to the UPSC. The shortlisted officers are Rajiv Kumar, Sandeep Rai Rathore and Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal
May 26, 2026 · 2 min read
Tamil Nadu is poised to appoint a full-time Director General of Police (DGP) and Head of Police Force (HoPF), ending months of uncertainty and a prolonged tussle between the erstwhile DMK-led state government and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) over the empanelment process.
Sources in the UPSC confirmed that the Commission has cleared a panel of three senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers for the top post. The shortlisted officers are Rajiv Kumar, Sandeep Rai Rathore and Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal. One among them is expected to be appointed as the next DGP/HoPF by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
The development comes after the state government submitted a revised list of eligible IPS officers to the UPSC. The list included senior-most officer Seema Agarwal of the 1990 batch, but she did not make it to the final panel as she is due to retire in June this year.
Under the Supreme Court guidelines governing the appointment of state DGPs, only officers with a minimum residual service of six months are eligible for consideration. In the present case, only officers serving beyond August 30 qualified for empanelment.
Apart from the three shortlisted officers, the state government had also recommended the names of K. Vanni Perumal and G. Venkatraman. Venkatraman had been functioning as DGP in-charge before he was shifted by the Election Commission following the announcement of the Assembly election schedule earlier this year.
Rajiv Kumar, a 1992-batch IPS officer, is set to remain in service until December 2028, while his batchmate Sandeep Rai Rathore has tenure until February 2028, making both strong contenders for the post.
Tamil Nadu has been without a regular DGP since the retirement of Shankar Jiwal on August 31, 2025. Since then, the state police force has functioned under interim arrangements amid legal and administrative delays surrounding the UPSC empanelment process.
The UPSC had earlier recommended a panel of officers in September last year. However, the then DMK government continued with an ad hoc arrangement instead of making a full-time appointment, prolonging the vacancy at the top of the state police hierarchy.
With the UPSC now clearing the latest panel, the appointment of a full-time police chief is expected shortly.
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