Over 10% posts vacant in Delhi Police; ACP rank sees highest shortfall at 36%: Govt

New Delhi: Over 10 per cent of the sanctioned strength in Delhi Police is currently vacant, with the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) rank recording the highest proportion of vacancies at over 36 per cent, according to official data tabled by the government in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, in a written reply to an question, said, as on November 30, 2025, the Delhi Police has 9,248 vacant posts against a total sanctioned strength of 92,044 -- translating into an overall vacancy rate of about 10 per cent.

Among gazetted ranks, the ACP cadre shows the maximum vacancies, with 125 posts lying vacant out of a sanctioned strength of 346 -- around 36 per cent. This is followed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police DCP at Junior Administrative Grade, which has 15 vacancies against 54 sanctioned posts, or nearly 28 per cent, and the DCP/Addl DCP rank with about 22 per cent vacancies (13 out of 60) .

At the cutting edge of policing, the largest number of vacancies in absolute terms is at the Constable level. There are 4,591 vacant constable posts out of a sanctioned strength of 50,946, a shortfall of about 9 per cent. Head constables account for 3,057 vacancies out of 23,724 posts, or close to 13 per cent.

The Sub-Inspector rank has 1,039 vacancies against 8,087 sanctioned posts (nearly 13 per cent), while inspectors show a comparatively lower vacancy rate of about 7 per cent, with 108 posts vacant out of 1,453.

Senior-most positions, including Commissioner of Police, Special Commissioner, Joint Commissioner and Additional Commissioner, have no vacancies at present.

The minister said that the vacancies are a “dynamic process” arising from retirements, promotions and resignations, and are being filled on a continuous basis through recruitment examinations, physical tests and medical checks.