DHAKA: The Supreme Court of Bangladesh on Wednesday rejected for the third time the government’s plea for further extension of time for separating the judiciary from the executive.

The court fixed Feb 22 for the hearing of the contempt of court charges brought against the government for the latter’s repeated failure to implement the 12-point directives on separation of the judiciary in 1999. The contempt petition was filed in Jan 2004.

“The application for extension of time to implement the directives is rejected,” the chief justice wrote in the order.

“If you have any information regarding any progress since October 20, present it to us; otherwise, there is no scope to pray for time without any positive development,” the court told the AG.

The court has already rejected similar government pleas twice – on Aug 7, 2004, and on Oct 20, 2004.