New Delhi: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has reportedly scheduled the Empanelment Committee Meeting (ECM) for September 26, 2025, in New Delhi to prepare a shortlist of three senior police officers for appointment as the next Director General of Police (DGP) and Head of Police Force (HoPF) in Tamil Nadu.

The meeting will be chaired by the UPSC Chairman and will include the Union Home Secretary, the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary, and a senior officer nominated by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Normally, the incumbent State DGP is part of the panel, but in this case, only the Chief Secretary will participate as in-charge DGP G. Venkatraman is himself a contender for the post.

Among the eight officers in the fray, Seema Agrawal, Rajeev Kumar, and Sandeep Rai Rathore are leading contenders based on seniority. The other names forwarded are K. Vannia Perumal, Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, G. Venkatraman, Vinit Dev Wankhede, and Sanjay Mathur. DGPs Pramod Kumar and Abhay Kumar Singh, though interested, are unlikely to be considered due to limited residual service.

The move to finalise a regular DGP gained urgency after the Supreme Court recently pulled up the State for delay in implementing its directives in the landmark Prakash Singh case. The apex court, while disposing of a related petition on September 9, urged the UPSC to expedite the process and asked the State government to appoint a full-time police chief without further delay.

As per the new Single Window System adopted by UPSC, State Chief Secretaries must certify eligibility and issue an Integrity Certificate before the ECM. If the panel is cleared on September 26, the Tamil Nadu government is expected to issue appointment orders swiftly, with a regular DGP likely to take charge by October 1, 2025.