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.
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]
The present Commissioner of Delhi Police is Sanjay Arora, IPS a 1988 batch officer of Tamil Nadu cadre deputed to AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre, who took office on 1 August 2022.
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]