The 20 IIM aspirants affected by Calcutta High Court’s stay on admissions under the quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) had something to cheer about on Thursday when the institution decided to go ahead with the interviews they had come for.

“We have not received a copy of the court order as yet, but the letter sent by lawyers of the other party indicates that the high court has only stayed the ‘operation of the reservation clause’. Nothing has been mentioned about the interview,” Dinesh Varma, the chief administrative officer of IIM Calcutta, said.

After spending a sleepless night, the candidates had to wait an extra one-and-a-half hours for the IIM authorities’ decision. At 10.45am, the increasingly nervous bunch was informed that the group discussion and interviews would take place according to schedule. But there was a rider: each of them would have to declare in writing that they were aware about the litigation and that the outcome of the interviews would become null and void if the court ordered so.

The interviews began at 11am. “We were on tenterhooks all night, though we are now relieved that at least the interviews have been held. This is the best they (IIM authorities) could do,” said one of the candidates, who reached Joka on Wednesday night and left on Thursday evening.

A petition filed by the Union human resource development ministry in the Supreme Court for vacation of the high court order will come up for hearing on Friday. The high court’s stay was in response to a petition by Sayan Guha, a BBA student.

Sayan contended that the 89 per cent marks he secured in the Common Admission Test did not gain him entry into an IIM because of the quota system. His petition will come up for hearing again on June 9.

The acting director of IIM Calcutta, Subir Bhattacharya, governing body member Ashish Bhattacharyya, admissions committee chairman Subrata Mitra and Varma attended the meeting that took the decision to hold interviews despite the injunction.

“We decided to go ahead with the interviews, but not publish the results till we receive further orders from the (Union human resource development) ministry,” Mitra said.

All 20 candidates are hoping that the court will take a quick decision, even if not in their favour. “I have already taken admission in another institute. I will lose a lot of money if this issue is not sorted out by the time classes start there,” said a final year BTech student who appeared for the interview.