The Supreme Court today issued a show-cause order to the authorities concerned of 10 private medical colleges to explain why they should not be prosecuted and imposed penalty for admitting 153 students who failed to fulfill the relevant requirements regarding admission test numbers.

The Appellate Division of the SC asked the chairmen and principals of the 10 medical colleges to submit their explanations before it by August 21.

The apex court also stayed a High Court directive that ordered Dhaka University authorities to give registration and admit cards to the 153 medical students for appearing in their first professional examinations.

A five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order during the hearing of a leave-to-appeal petition filed by DU challenging the HC order.

The 10 private medical colleges are-- MH Samorita Medical College, City Medical College, Nightingale Medical College, ZH Sikder Medical College, AR Medical College, East West Medical College, Tairunnessa Memorial Medical College, Aichi Medical College, Care Medical College and Ashiyan Medical College.

The health ministry in 2014 issued a circular imposing a condition that the students, who will score minimum 120 number including 40 in written examination out of total 200 in the admission tests, can be admitted into MBBS and BDS for 2014-2015 academic year. DU authorities too imposed a similar condition.

The authorities concerned of DU, which controls the professional examinations of the medical colleges, refused to give registration and admit cards to the 153 students of 10 private medical colleges for appearing in their first professional examinations as they could not fulfill the requirements imposed by the health ministry and DU.

Following a writ petition filed by 153 students, the HC on June 13 this year ordered DU authorities to give registration and admit cards to them in 72 hours.

The DU authorities recently filed a leave-to-appeal petition with the SC against the HC order.