Overview

• Sitting minister Chandranath Sinha was directed to appear at the ED’s Kolkata office on September 25 and 26 from 11 am to 5 pm, with the option of further summons if needed.
• The court extended Sinha’s interim bail, following his surrender on September 6 and the reading of charges on September 12, as trial proceedings move forward at the Alipore court.
• The judge found custodial interrogation unwarranted, noting the ED was not prompt in progressing the probe and highlighting the long gap since Sinha’s last interrogation in September 2024.
• The ED had sought seven days’ custody; the order was reserved on September 20 and delivered on September 24.
• The ED says it recovered about ₹41 lakh from Sinha’s Bolpur residence in March 2024 and has filed a sixth supplementary PMLA complaint, as Sinha becomes the second cabinet minister prosecuted after Partha Chatterjee, who remains in judicial custody.