On February 5, 2026, the Supreme Court took strict note of states delaying Director General of Police (DGP) appointments. It allowed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to inform the court if proposals are not sent on time. The court gave UPSC four weeks to recommend a DGP for Telangana, where the last regular DGP retired in 2017. The Bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, supported UPSC's concern over delays violating the Prakash Singh police reform case instructions. The Prakash Singh case mandates selecting DGPs from the three senior-most IPS officers empanelled by UPSC and fixes a two-year tenure. UPSC told the court that delays harm senior officers' chances and states prefer acting DGPs rather than regular appointments. The court said, "In order to ensure that there is no defiance of the directions issued in the Prakash Singh case, we hereby authorise the UPSC to firstly write to the state governments to sent timely proposal for appointment of DGP." The court ordered UPSC to approach it if states continue delays. This hearing responded to a petition by UPSC challenging a Telangana High Court order that asked UPSC to complete Telangana's DGP selection within four weeks following apex court rules. UPSC stated Telangana failed to send proposals in time. The last regular DGP in Telangana was appointed in November 2015 and retired in 2017. The Bench noted states are causing senior officers to retire or be overlooked due to these delays. It emphasized UPSC must quickly hold empanelment meetings and recommend Telangana's DGP. Four more weeks were granted to do this task.