MeredithRodrigue at 04:03, 27 February 2026

2026-02-27T04:03:47Z

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{{Short description|Head of the Delhi Police}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Commissioner of Police<br>[[Delhi]]
| insignia = File:Director_General_of_Police.png
| insigniasize = 100px
| insigniacaption = Rank Insignia of the Police Commissioner (Director General Rank)
| image =
| residence = [[New Delhi]] [[Delhi]]
| appointer = [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India]]
| termlength = 60 years of age (whichever earlier)
| termlength_qualified = Renewable at Ministry's pleasure
| constituting_instrument = The Delhi Police Act, 1978<ref name="Manual">{{cite web|url=http://www.delhipolice.nic.in/home/rti/manual-5.htm|title=Rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records for discharging functions|publisher=Delhi Police|access-date=26 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226180220/http://www.delhipolice.nic.in/home/rti/manual-5.htm|archive-date=26 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="charter">{{cite web |url= http://humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/police/delhi_police_act_1978.pdf |format= PDF |title= The Delhi Police Act, 1978 |publisher= humanrightsinitiative.org}}</ref>
| formation = 1978
| succession =
| deputy = The Special Commissioner(s) of Police {{small|(one or more)}}
| inaugural = J. N. Chaturvedi
| website = [https://www.delhipolice.nic.in/SANDESH.html Office of the Commissioner]
| footnotes =
| body =
| incumbent = Satish Golcha, [[Indian Police Service|IPS]]<br>
| incumbentsince = 22 August 2025
| native_name = दिल्ली पुलिस कमिश्नर
| department = [[Delhi Police]]
| reports_to = * [[Union Home Minister]]
* [[Union Home Secretary]]
}}

The '''Commissioner of Police, Delhi''' or '''Delhi Police Commissioner''' is the head of the [[Delhi Police]], the law enforcement agency of the 15 [[Districts of Delhi Police|police districts]] (as of January 2019) of India's capital, [[Delhi]].

==Origins==
In 1966, the [[Government of India]] constituted the Delhi Police Commission headed by Justice G.D. Khosla to investigate problems faced by Delhi Police. It was on the basis of the Khosla Commission Report that the Delhi Police was reorganised. Four Police districts were constituted: North, Central, South and New Delhi. The Delhi Police Commission also recommended the introduction of [[Commissioner of Police (India)|Police Commissioner]] system, which was eventually adopted on 1 July 1978.

Following the recommendations of "Khosla Commission", Commissioner of Police system in [[Delhi]], the capital of [[India]] was started in 1978, with J.N. Chaturvedi being appointed as the first Police Commissioner of Delhi. It replaced the earlier [[Inspector General of Police#India|Inspector General of Police]] system, where the Inspector General of police would report to the [[Divisional Commissioner (India)]] of Delhi, thus having a dual authority in effect. The Commissioner system brought an end to this dual authority as since then the appointed Commissioner of Police is of [[Director General of Police]] (DGP) reports to the Union Home Minister and the Lt Governor.

The longest serving Commissioner of Delhi Police is [[Krishan Kant Paul]] who served for 42 months (2004-2007).<ref name=KK>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/kk-paul-is-new-governor-of-meghalaya-former-delhi-police-commissioner-replaces-ranjit-shekhar-mooshahary/cid/279545|title=KK Paul is new governor of Meghalaya|work=[[The Telegraph (Calcutta)|The Telegraph]]|date=2 July 2013 | accessdate=11 March 2019}}</ref>

==Incumbent police commissioner==
The incumbent Commissioner of Delhi Police is Satish Golcha, [[Indian Police Service|IPS]] who took office on 22 August 2025 .

==Former police commissioners==
[[File:Delhi Police Headquarters.jpg|thumb|Delhi Police Headquarters]]

{| class="wikitable" width=50%
! #
! Name
! Took office
! Left office
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 1
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | J.N. Chaturvedi
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jul 1978
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jan 1980
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 2
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | P.S. Bhinder
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jan 1980
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Dec 1981
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 3
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Bajrang Lal
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Dec 1981
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Apr 1983
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 4
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | S.C. Tandon
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Apr 1983
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Nov 1984
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 5
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | S.S. Jog
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Nov 1984
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Apr 1985
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 6
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | [[Ved Marwah]]
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Apr 1985
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Apr 1988
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 7
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Raja Vijay Karan
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Apr 1988
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Dec 1990
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 8
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Arun Bhagat
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Dec 1990
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Feb 1992
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 9
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | M.B. Kaushal
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Feb 1992
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jan 1995
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 10
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | [[Nikhil Kumar (governor)|Nikhil Kumar]]
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jan 1995
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Apr 1997
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 11
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | T.R. Kakkar
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Apr 1997
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | May 1998
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 12
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | V.N. Singh
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | May 1998
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jun 1999
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 13
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Ajay Raj Sharma
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jul 1999
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jun 2002
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 14
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | R.S. Gupta
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jul 2002
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Feb 2004
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 15
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | [[Krishan Kant Paul]]
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Feb 2004
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jul 2007
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 16
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Y.S. Dadwal
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jul 2007
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Nov 2010
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 17
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | B.K. Gupta
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Nov 2010
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jun 2012
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 18
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | [[Neeraj Kumar (police officer)|Neeraj Kumar]]<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.delhipolice.nic.in/oldcpdelhi.html | title=FORMER COMMISSIONERS OF DELHI POLICE | publisher=[[Delhi Police]] | date=2 May 2013 | accessdate=21 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tihar-dg-neeraj-kumar-named-delhi-police-commissioner/968037/| title= Tihar DG Neeraj Kumar named Delhi Police Commissioner| date=29 June 2012}}</ref>
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jun 2012
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jul 2013
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 19
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | [[Bhim Sain Bassi]]<ref>[http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/b-s-bassi-to-be-new-delhi-police-commissioner-25131.html B S Bassi to be new Delhi Police Commissioner]</ref>
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jul 2013
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Feb 2016
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 20
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | [[Alok Verma|Alok Kumar Verma]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/alok-verma-takes-charge-as-delhis-new-police-commissioner-1282378 |title=Alok Takes Charge As Delhi's New Police Commissioner |date=29 February 2016 | publisher=NDTV | accessdate=16 June 2018}}</ref>
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Feb 2016
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Jan 2017
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 21
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | [[Amulya Patnaik]]
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Feb 2017
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Feb 2020
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 22
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | S.N.Srivastava
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | March 2020
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | June 2021
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 23
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | Balaji Srivastava ''(Interim)''
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | July 2021
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | July 2021
|-
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | 24
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | [[Rakesh Asthana]]
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | July 2021<ref>{{cite news |last1=Trivedi |first1=Saurabh |title=Rakesh Asthana appointed Delhi Police Commissioner |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/rakesh-asthana-appointed-delhi-police-commissioner/article35573925.ece |access-date=28 July 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=28 July 2021 |language=en-IN}}</ref>
| bgcolor=#DDEEFF | July 2022
|-
|25
|[[Sanjay Arora (officer)|Sanjay Arora]]
|Aug 2022
|July 2025
|-
|26
|[[Shashi Bhushan Kumar Singh]] ''(Interim)''
|Aug 2025
|Aug 2025
|-
|27
|[[Satish Golcha]]
|Aug 2025
|[[Incumbent]]
|}

==Controversy==
Opposition parties questioned the appointment of [[Rakesh Asthana]], a 1984-Gujarat cadre IPS officer, as the Commissioner, who was appointed to the post on 27 July 2021, just before 4 days of his superannuation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Langa |first1=Mahesh |title=For Rakesh Asthana, new role as Delhi Police Commissioner comes as vindication |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/for-rakesh-asthana-new-role-as-delhi-police-commissioner-comes-as-vindication/article35577887.ece |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=28 July 2021 |language=en-IN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Congress questions appointment of Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police chief |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/congress-questions-appointment-of-asthana-as-delhi-police-chief-7427500/ |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=The Indian Express |date=29 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Police Commissioner of Mumbai]]
* [[Police Commissioner of Kolkata]]
* [[Commissioner of Pune City Police]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:New Delhi]]
[[Category:Chiefs of police| ]]
[[Category:Indian police chiefs]]
[[Category:Delhi Police]]

Commissioner of the Delhi Police - Revision history

MeredithRodrigue at 04:03, 27 February 2026