date command op formation

Dear All

I am facing below mention problem plz suggest me solution.

Op of date command:

> date
Tue Jan 1 12:17:52 IST 2008

Now i want Jan 1 12: or Jan 1 12 op in some another variable.

I had tried awk but if give me problem when there is date comes in 2 digit i.e. greater that 9. at that time op of date commnad contain only 1 space between Day month and date.
i.e. If date < 10 then op:Tue Jan 1 12:17:52 IST 2008
if date > 9 then op: Mon Dec 31 12:17:52 IST 2008
So i want direct op from date commnad means it should contain 2 space bet month and date when date is < 10 and contain 2 space when date is > 9.

Kindly suggest me,

Regards
jaydeep

Your requirements are unclear. Assuming you want fixed formatting
the following should work:

 date "+%b %e %l"