Rush Hour: TMC protests removal of top officials, Haryana drops case against Ashoka professor & more

Mar 16, 2026 - 20:00

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Trinamool Congress MPs walked out of the Rajya Sabha to protest against the Election Commission’s decision to replace several top officials in West Bengal shortly after the schedule for the Assembly election was announced.

Among those removed from their posts by the poll panel were Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey, Kolkata Commissioner of Police Supratim Sarkar and Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty.

The Election Commission directed that those transferred out of their positions should not be posted in any election-related assignment till the polls are completed.

The election will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The result will be announced on May 4. Read on.

The Haryana government told the Supreme Court that it will not grant sanction to prosecute Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad in a case related to his comments about the press briefings on Operation Sindoor. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi then quashed the criminal proceedings against Mahmudabad, but cautioned him to act “prudently” in the future.

The state’s decision, described as “one-time magnanimity”, was communicated to the court by Additional Solicitor General SV Raju.

Mahmudabad had been booked in May for a social media post highlighting the apparent irony of Hindutva commentators praising Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who had...