The Calcutta High Court on Monday gave orders to make the Enforcement Directorate a party in a public interest litigation seeking investigation into the alleged disproportionate rise in wealth of 19 Trinamool Congress leaders, IANS reported.

West Bengal resident Biplob Chowdhury had filed the public interest litigation In 2017. On Monday, Shamim Ahmed, a lawyer, filed a fresh petition in the court seeking directions on the PIL, The Indian Express reported.

Ahmed has submitted a list of 19 Trinamool Congress leaders whose properties, he claimed, rose in the range of 250% and 1,200% between 2011 and 2016 – the first five years of the party’s regime in West Bengal.

The list includes the names of Firhad Hakim, Bratya Basu, Jyotipriyo Mullick, Maloy Ghatak, Arup Roy, Javed Ahmed Khan and Seuli Saha, who are ministers in the Mamata Banerjee Cabinet.

Siliguri Municipal Corporation Mayor Gautam Deb and MLAs Madan Mitra and Swarnakamal Saha are also on the list. Two former ministers, who have now died, Subrata Mukherjee and Sadhan Pandey have also been named in the plea.

The petition came up at a time when senior Trinamool Congress leader and former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee is in custody in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam.

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee on July 23.

Chatterjee was the state education minister in 2018 when allegedly jobs were given to candidates in return for money instead of deserving candidates who had qualified in the recruitment process.

The Enforcement Directorate has claimed that it has seized Rs 49.80 crore in cash, jewellery and gold bars from apartments owned by Mukherjee, besides documents of properties and a company in joint holding.

On July 28, Chatterjee was stripped of his party and ministerial responsibilities.