"Since the hearing is not complete, it will be fair to postpone the admission and we will complete it (the admission process) as early as possible," HRD Minister Arjun Singh said.
Asked if the IIMs would go ahead with the admission process tomorrow, he said "I am quite aware of the institutions run by the state. They have fairly good idea of how they have to conduct themselves as institutions run by the state".
Following the government communication, the meeting of the IIMs was called off. The business schools, which had set an ultimatum of Saturday for the government to clarify matter for them to go ahead with the admission process, were to consider the situation arising out of Supreme Court, fixing Monday for the next hearing in the matter.
Reacting to the government's move, IIM-Ahmedabad director Bakul Dholakia said there were deadlines for other institutions, which would expire and the IIMs would not be able to announce their admissions.
This would affect the quality of the intake of the six IIMs, he said adding "it is our responsibility to safeguard them and, therefore, we cannot wait beyond a certain point".
"I have been hopeful from the beginning," Arjun Singh said when asked whether he expected a positive result on Monday's hearing in the apex court.
Ministry sources had earlier said if the IIMs persisted with the idea of going ahead with the admissions without the OBC quota, it would weaken the government's case before the apex court.
Asked whether any time frame can be given on the postponement of the admissions, he said "we cannot give any timeframe. Court is the deciding factor. We said as early as possible". Asked if there was no relief from the apex court on Monday, he merely said it was a question of presumption.
Dismissing the suggestion that there was a confrontation between the ministry and the prestigious B-schools on the issue, Singh said, "I don't believe in confrontation. There is no question of somebody imposing his superiority on others. We made concessions to each other".
Asked specifically if the IIMs went ahead with the admission process tomorrow, he said "I am quite aware of the institutions run by the state. They have fairly good idea of how they have to conduct themselves as institutions run by the state." He also said that there was no meeting scheduled between him and the IIM directors.
Asked whether the government would bring an ordinance to implement the quota regime, Singh said this was a Constitutional amendment and added, "how can we do it by ordinance".
Singh said the government would try to do whatever possible to implement the OBC reservation. "That is the overriding interest of the OBC students. The kind of letters I have been getting, they are desperate. They are quite right. No student is deprived of a seat."
"Now there is a new situation. What court decides, let us see," Singh said. Asked about the OBC data on which the apex court laid more focus, he said that this was the job of the legal people and his concern would be to see that they got all support from the ministry to enable them to before the court.
