Full bench of the five-member Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain yesterday heard the contempt petition filed on March 1 by Barrister Amir-Ul Islam, intervener in the judiciary-separation case, and fixed the date for passing order.

During the hearing, the Attorney General AJ Mohammad Ali outlined the 'steps taken by the government' for separation of the judiciary.

But the court expressed its displeasure and reprimanded the government for dilly-dallying on the matter.

The 10 bureaucrats include Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, Law Secretary Alauddin Sardar, former law secretaries Md Asaduzzaman and ATM Afzal Hossain Ahmed, Establishment Secretary Dr Mahbubur Rahman, former establishment secretary and incumbent Cabinet Secretary ASM Abdul Halim, Home Secretary and former establishment secretary Safar Raj Hossain, former establishment secretary Anwarul Bar Chowdhury, former finance secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan and incumbent Finance Secretary Siddiqur Rahman.

In response to the court's query about formulation of rules for making the judiciary separate, the attorney general said the rules will be formulated once the amendment to Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is passed in parliament.

Expressing annoyance over the reply, the court said it wonders what should possibly the relations between those rules and changes in CrPC. It emphasised that the government take urgent steps to formulate the rules in accordance with the court directives.

The attorney general told the court that the government has taken various steps to carry out the 12-point directive. 'Code of Criminal Procedure (amendment) Bill 2006' has already been approved by the cabinet and will soon be placed in parliament for passage, he added.

He submitted that it is not true that the government has done nothing regarding implementation of the SC directives. It has framed two rules in line with the SC judgement and waits to issue the others.

Mohammad Ali said, "We did not make any unnecessary delay...the government is working but at a slower pace."

Barrister Amir-Ul Islam submitted before the court that the government has violated the SC directives several times by appointing judges in the lower judiciary without consulting the country's highest court.

"The law minister has said separation of the judiciary will take place by the year 2012. His statement proves that the coalition government has no intention of implementing the verdict," he said.

Saying that the court cannot afford to be oblivious to the situation, he asked for a contempt rule against the government officials for not implementing the judgement in the judiciary-separation case.

Apart from the 10 government officials accused by Amir-Ul of contempt, the law ministry's Senior Assistant Secretary Mohammad Harunur Rashid and eight other bureaucrats who already face the contempt charge for distorting the SC directives since November 2004, were present during the day's hearing.

Dr Kamal Hossain, another intervener in the judiciary-separation case, drew the court's attention to the government order for transferring Harunur Rashid as a joint district judge to the Dhaka District Court. He called for the court to stay the transfer order.

He said it would not be wise to let him [Harunur] be appointed as a joint district judge as the court will come under controversy if he is found guilty of committing contempt of court.