The Supreme Court today gave six-month time to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) to demolish its building constructed illegally in Dhaka's Begunbari canal and Hatirjheel Lake.

Read More: Fate of illegal BGMEA building sealed

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order following a petition filed by BGMEA on Wednesday seeking three years’ time for shifting the offices from the building.

The Supreme Court on March 5 dismissed a petition seeking review of its judgement upholding an April 2011 High Court order for demolishing the 15-storey BGMEA building.

The HC verdict had ordered the government to demolish the building within three months, saying it was built on land acquired through forgery and filled with earth illegally.

Later, the Appellate Division stayed the HC judgement following a BGMEA petition.

A four-member Appellate Division bench headed by the chief justice passed a short verdict on June 2 last year dismissing the BGMEA appeal and upholding the HC order. The SC released the full text of the verdict on November 8 ordering BGMEA to immediately demolish the building at its own cost.

The building's foundation was laid in 1998 by the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina and it was opened in 2006 by the then premier Khaleda Zia.