Senior police official Seema Agrawal.
The process of appointing a regular Director-General of Police (DGP) and Head of Police Force (HoPF) for Tamil Nadu has resumed.
Senior bureaucrats have returned to the negotiation table to finalise a fresh panel of DGP-rank officers to be forwarded to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for empanelment.
As per the Supreme Court order issued on Thursday, the appointment of a regular DGP must be completed within three weeks. The court passed the orders while disposing of a contempt petition moved by Kishore K. Swamy of Chennai, who contended that the Tamil Nadu government had violated the apex court’s guidelines in the appointment of regular DGPs.
The State government is now expected to send the panel of eligible officers within one week, following which the UPSC will finalise a shortlist of three officers within two weeks. One among them will be appointed as DGP/HoPF, with a minimum tenure of two years, irrespective of the date of superannuation, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s guidelines laid down in the Prakash Singh case.
Top contenders
In order of seniority, Seema Agrawal, Rajeev Kumar, and Sandeep Rai Rathore are currently the top three contenders. Their names were earlier shortlisted by the UPSC when Tamil Nadu sent its list of eligible officers in October 2025.
Senior police official Sandeep Rai Rathore.
But the State government did not select any of them and allowed G. Venkatraman to continue as DGP/HoPF (in-charge). On October 22, Law Minister S. Reghupathy issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter), stating that the three names recommended by the UPSC were not acceptable to the State government.
He accused the Union government of disregarding Tamil Nadu’s views and attempting to appoint an officer of its choice as DGP. The Minister further alleged that the UPSC had finalised certain names despite strong objections raised by the State during the Empanelment Committee Meeting. Other DGP-rank officers, in order of seniority, include K. Vanniaperumal, Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, G. Venkatraman, Vinit Dev Wankhede, Sanjay Mathur, S. Davidson Devasirvatham, Sandeep Mittal, and Bala Naga Devi.
Though there were reports that the Integrity Certificate of one officer had been withdrawn, there has been no confirmation regarding the registration of any case or initiation of a vigilance inquiry.
T.N. DGP (in-charge) G. Venkatraman.
According to official sources, there seemed no change in the eligibility status of the top three officers. While a minimum residual service of six months is generally required for consideration to the post of DGP/HoPF, Ms. Agrawal, who has about four months of service remaining, may still qualify. This is because the residual service is calculated from the date the vacancy arose, which is September 1, 2025.
However, the sources said the State would finalise the list of eligible officers and send the panel in compliance with the Single Window System instructions of the UPSC.
“Even after the State conveyed its dissatisfaction over the shortlisted names, the UPSC declined to make any changes and maintained status quo on the matter. Any changes would depend on new developments and emerging situations brought on record by the State government at the time of empanelment,” a senior police officer said.
Published – February 14, 2026 12:10 am IST
