Commissioner of the Delhi Police
Head of the Delhi Police
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The Commissioner of Police, Delhi or Delhi Police Commissioner is the head of the Delhi Police, the law enforcement agency of the 15 police districts (as of January 2019) of India's capital, Delhi.
Renewable at Ministry's pleasure
| Commissioner of Police Delhi | |
|---|---|
| दिल्ली पुलिस कमिश्नर | |
 Rank Insignia of the Police Commissioner (Director General Rank) | |
since 17 July 2026 | |
| Delhi Police | |
| Reports to | |
| Residence | New Delhi Delhi |
| Appointer | Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |
| Term length | 60 years of age (whichever earlier) Renewable at Ministry's pleasure |
Constituting instrument | The Delhi Police Act, 1978[1] [2] |
| Inaugural holder | J. N. Chaturvedi |
| Formation | 1978 |
| Deputy | The Special Commissioner(s) of Police (one or more) |
| Website | Office of the Commissioner |
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 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 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).[3]
Incumbent Police Commissioners
The incumbent Commissioner of Delhi Police is Anurag Kumar, IPS who took office on 17 July 2026.
List of Police Commissioners
| # | Name | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J. N. Chaturvedi | Jul 1978 | Jan 1980 |
| 2 | P. S. Bhinder | Jan 1980 | Dec 1981 |
| 3 | Bajrang Lal | Dec 1981 | Apr 1983 |
| 4 | S. C. Tandon | Apr 1983 | Nov 1984 |
| 5 | S. S. Jog | Nov 1984 | Apr 1985 |
| 6 | Ved Marwah | Apr 1985 | Apr 1988 |
| 7 | Raja Vijay Karan | Apr 1988 | Dec 1990 |
| 8 | Arun Bhagat | Dec 1990 | Feb 1992 |
| 9 | M. B. Kaushal | Feb 1992 | Jan 1995 |
| 10 | Nikhil Kumar | Jan 1995 | Apr 1997 |
| 11 | T. R. Kakkar | Apr 1997 | May 1998 |
| 12 | V. N. Singh | May 1998 | Jun 1999 |
| 13 | Ajay Raj Sharma | Jul 1999 | Jun 2002 |
| 14 | R. S. Gupta | Jul 2002 | Feb 2004 |
| 15 | Krishan Kant Paul | Feb 2004 | Jul 2007 |
| 16 | Y. S. Dadwal | Jul 2007 | Nov 2010 |
| 17 | B. K. Gupta | Nov 2010 | Jun 2012 |
| 18 | Neeraj Kumar[4][5] | Jun 2012 | Jul 2013 |
| 19 | Bhim Sain Bassi[6] | Jul 2013 | Feb 2016 |
| 20 | Alok Kumar Verma[7] | Feb 2016 | Jan 2017 |
| 21 | Amulya Patnaik | Feb 2017 | Feb 2020 |
| 22 | S. N. Srivastava | March 2020 | June 2021 |
| – | Balaji Srivastava (interim) | July 2021 | July 2021 |
| 23 | Rakesh Asthana | July 2021[8] | July 2022 |
| 24 | Sanjay Arora | Aug 2022 | July 2025 |
| – | Shashi Bhushan Kumar Singh (interim) | Aug 2025 | Aug 2025 |
| 25 | Satish Golcha | Aug 2025 | Jul 2026 |
| 26 | Anurag Kumar | Jul 2026 | 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.[9][10]