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IIM-C conducts interviews despite High Court order
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NewsByte on 15 May, 2008 07:29:00
 
Kolkata: The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) went ahead and
conducted interviews of candidates of other backward classes (OBCs) today, a day
after Calcutta High Court stayed the new quota policy at the business school.
"The stay order was not issued on interviews but on the reservation of seats.
We interviewed 20 OBC students today," IIM-C chief administrative officer Dinesh
Verma said. "Besides, we have not received any copy of the court order so far.
We just received a letter on the stay order from petitioner Sayan Guha's lawyer
Neelava Banerjee," he said.
"We will, of course, not finalise the admissions till we get the final decision
from the Supreme Court or the Calcutta High Court," Verma further added. The
High Court on Wednesday stayed the OBC quota at the IIM-C till further hearing
on the petition June 9.
IIM aspirant Guha had challenged the human resource development ministry's
April 20 notification, giving the go-ahead for OBC reservation in centrally
funded higher educational institutes including the IIMs and the Indian
Institutes of Technology (IITs).
Centre approaches Supreme Court
Meanwhile, the Centre today approached the Supreme Court seeking vacation of
the Calcutta High Court order staying the implementation of a government
memorandum relating to 27 per cent quota for OBCs in post graduate courses in
IIMs.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan allowed the plea of Solicitor
General G E Vahanvati to include the matter for hearing in the mentioning list
on Friday. The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday stayed quota for OBCs in
post-graduate courses in Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and stopped
interview of OBC candidates for the same.
Justice Maharaj Sinha, in an ex-parte interim order, granted the stay on a
petition by Sayan Guha, a B-Tech student challenging the HRD ministry's
memorandum and also the IIM-C interview scheduled for Friday.
The interim order stayed till June nine the operation of the reservation clause
of IIM prospectus and also the resolution of office memorandum dated April 20,
2008 passed by the HRD Ministry. The matter would come up for hearing again on
June nine. (IANS/PTI)