Punjab Government Unlikely to Send DGP Candidate Panel to UPSC Citing State Legislation

Punjab's government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is unlikely to comply with a Supreme Court directive to send a panel of eligible IPS officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for selecting the state's Director General of Police (DGP). The state cites the Punjab Police Amendment Bill 2023, passed by the Assembly but awaiting presidential assent, which empowers it to appoint the DGP independently. Despite the UPSC's February 18 request and a February 28 deadline, the government has not sent the panel, maintaining its stance to follow its own legislation unless legal complications arise.