Dhaka, May 26: Bangladesh's supreme court gave the government four more months to separate the judiciary from the executive, lawyers said today while expressing doubts that the extension would be enough time to do the job. Chief Justice Mainur Reza Chowdhury presided a full bench that granted the government until September to complete the process under a 12-point agenda it gave in 1999, they said.

The court decision followed a government petition seeking to clear some clauses of the agenda, including one linked to the placement of the government magistrates and their operations, officials said. Today's decision was the 15th time the court extended the deadline for the government to complete the process.

Bureau Report