Rashmi Shukla to have 2-year tenure as DGP; will hold the post till Jan 2026

The proposal was moved by the home department on Monday and was granted a final okay on Tuesday. The state wanted to appoint Shukla as DGP in September last year and had created a vacancy by appointing then DGP Rajnish Seth as chairperson of Maharashtra Public Service Commission

Mumbai: Director general of police (DGP) Rashmi Shukla has been granted a two-year term till January 2026 to lead the Maharashtra police force. The 1998 IPS officer assumed the role of Maharashtra DGP in January 2024 and was initially set to retire in June 2024. However, she will now retire on January 3, 2026, and hence Mumbai police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar can lose his chance to become DGP of the state. Phansalkar will retire in May 2025. However, with the new government resolution (GR), she will now serve a complete two-year tenure until 2026.

Mumbai, India - Jan. 9, 2024: IPS officer Rashmi Shukla of 1988 batch took over as the first female Director General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra on Tuesday. She took the charge from Mumbai police commissioner, Vivek Phansalkar who was holding additional charge as DGP, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The state government, led by chief minister Eknath Shinde, referenced the Prakash Singh judgement of the Supreme Court, advocating for a two-year term for state police chiefs to shield them from political pressures. A senior home ministry official explained that the Maharashtra Police Act stipulates a two-year tenure only if the officer is not retiring.

The proposal was moved by the home department on Monday and was granted a final okay on Tuesday. The state wanted to appoint Shukla as DGP in September last year and had created a vacancy by appointing then DGP Rajnish Seth as chairperson of Maharashtra Public Service Commission. However there were delays as the Union Public Service Commission had raised questions on the file.

Shukla, an IPS officer of the 1988 batch was appointed as state DGP in January this year. Sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the political bosses were happy with her for containing the agitation of Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil.

When HT reached out to Shukla, she refused to comment on this matter. However, an IPS officer said, “As per directions in the Prakash Singh case in the Supreme Court; states are supposed to give two-year tenure to DGPs. This is not an extension. Shukla’s appointment is done by UPSC and the government is only following the SC judgement.’’

Her name was cleared for elevation after all three criminal cases against her regarding alleged snooping on several leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi were dropped/cleared by the current government.

Shukla had been on central deputation, heading the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and returned to the state after the Bombay High Court dismissed two of the three FIRs filed against her in Pune and Mumbai in December. Following the change in government to the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis administration in Maharashtra, the third case was transferred to the CBI. Subsequently, the case was closed after the court approved the CBI’s closure report, facilitating her return to the state.

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that the two-year term was granted on the basis of the SC judgement.