The Enforcement Directorate, which is probing alleged irregularities in appointments in state-aided schools, has submitted a chargesheet against Chandranath Sinha, the minister in charge of correctional services.

On Friday, the ED received the formal nod from governor C.V. Ananda Bose to prosecute the cabinet minister.

"The governor has given his formal nod for prosecuting the minister. Since the governor is the appointing authority, it is mandatory to get an official clearance," a senior ED officer said.

The central investigating agency submitted the chargesheet against Sinha at a special court on Wednesday. Sinha, the Trinamool Congress MLA of Bolpur, is the second lawmaker from the party to be arraigned in the case that deals with alleged irregularities in recruitments in state-aided schools across Bengal.

Partha Chatterjee, former education minister, was the first Trinamool MLA to be chargesheeted in the case.

The chargesheet against Sinha said he was allegedly involved in receiving money from several aspirants against the promise of jobs.

"Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Kolkata Zonal Office has filed 6th Supplementary Prosecution Complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 on 06.08.2025 against Chandranath Sinha (MLA and Minister-in-Charge for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Textiles and Correctional Administration, West Bengal) before the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA), Kolkata in the matter of Primary Teachers’ Recruitment Scam," ED said in a release on Friday.
The central agency had initiated an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on an FIR registered by the CBI's Anti-Corruption Branch, Calcutta, on the directions of Calcutta High Court.

In March, the ED had carried out search and seizure operations at Sinha's residence in Bolpur. The sleuths said some of the other accused in the case, including Kuntal Ghosh and Prasanna Roy, who were arrested, had mentioned the minister's name.

The minister, who had skipped two summons earlier, turned up to face the ED interrogators on Thursday. He was asked to go without facing questions, senior ED officials said, adding that the agency was awaiting the formal nod from the governor before questioning him.

"Over ₹40 lakh in cash was seized during the search and seizure operation, and the minister failed to clarify in clear terms why such an amount was kept at his residence," the ED officer said.

Sinha was not available for comment on Friday.