The full bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain also asked the four top bureaucrats to explain within three weeks why contempt proceedings should not be brought against them.

The bureaucrats issued with the contempt rule are Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, Law Secretary Alauddin Sarder, Establishment Secretary Mahbubur Rahman and Finance Secretary Siddiqur Rahman.

The court ruling came in response to an updated contempt petition filed by Barrister M Amir-Ul Islam on behalf of Chowdhury Munir Uddin Mahfuz, judge of the Tribunal for Prevention of Women and Children Repression, Kishoreganj on February 22. Amir is also an intervener in the judiciary separation case filed among others by Munir.

In the original petition filed on April 13, 2004, Amir accused three secretaries of contempt for violating the Supreme Court's 12-point directive. Updating the petition, he brought the same charge against seven other bureaucrats.

After hearing the petition Sunday, the court fixed yesterday for ruling on the matter.

During deliverance of the order yesterday, the courtroom was crammed full of lawyers.

Dr Kamal Hossain, who has been moving the case as an intervener, told reporters that it is the constitutional responsibility of the highest court to ensure its orders are executed and to take action against those defying or ignoring the directives.

"As the apex court of the country, the Supreme Court has a constitutional responsibility to protect its supremacy, dignity and image, and the court has done so," he said, referring to the constitutional mandate for everyone to comply with the Supreme Court orders.

Amir-Ul Islam, also president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), said the ruling was urgently needed to uphold the constitution and safeguard the image of the highest court of the country.

"The court had given the coalition government four years' time to carry out its directives but the government has misused the court's munificence. It has resorted to dilly-dallying and deceived the court, constitution and people, increasing gravity of the contempt charge," he said.

The six bureaucrats who have not been included in the contempt rule are former law secretaries Asaduzzaman and ATM Afzal Hossain Ahmed, 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, and former finance secretary Zakir Ahmed Khan.

The Supreme Court's directives to separate the judiciary came under the landmark judgement in the much-talked-about judiciary separation case on December 2, 1999.

Since then, successive governments had taken 22 time extensions for implementation of the court directives, but did little.

When asked whether the four [bureaucrats] will have to appear in person at the court to face the charge, Amir said the court did not say anything in this regard, though the petitioner had sought a direction to that effect.

Meanwhile, nine other bureaucrats, who already face contempt charge for distorting the SC judgement in the judiciary separation case, were at the court during the deliverance yesterday.

Rokanuddin Mahmud, M Enayetur Rahim, Tania Amir, Manzill Murshid, Tanjib-ul Alam, Moniruzzaman Asad, Sarah Hossain, Moyeen Firoz and Shamsul Alam Hasan assisted Dr Kamal Hossain and Amir-Ul Islam. Additional Attorneys General Abdur Razzak Khan and Fida M Kamal stood for the state while TH Khan and Khondker Mahbubuddin Ahmed for the nine accused government officials.