The commissioner heads the police force in a jurisdiction consisting of approximately 650 km2 area and home to a population of 1.6 Crore (16 million) with a 40 lakh (4 million) floating population.

The post of Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad City has its roots in Hyderabad State during the Nizam period.

Called Kotwal-e-Balda or Kotwal for short, the Commissioner of police was appointed by the Nizam of Hyderabad.

He was the chief adviser to the Nizam on all police matters and was part of his durbar.

The first Hindu kotwal was Raja Bahadur Venkat Rama Reddy, who served as the Commissioner during the reign of Mir Osman Ali Khan Nizam VII.