Rajesh Mane (name changed), an M Tech student from IIT-Bombay who had bagged a lucrative job in petroleum PSU in December 2011, is still awaiting his appointment letter. Eight months after celebrating his breakthrough, he has no idea when he can start work. In fact, he is clueless if he even has a job.

Mane isn't alone. Many from the class of 2012 who were placed earlier this year face the same conundrum. The insecurity that each of these hired-but-jobless students is living through each day stems from the Madras high court restraining PSUs from hiring through campus placements in February.

"When I called them in April to ask about the medical check-up I was supposed to undergo, they asked me to hold on for the moment. I was then informed about the Madras HC stay," said Mane. Since the PSU that hired him was an A grade company, he couldn't appear for another interview. At that point, of course, Mane might not have even felt the need to look for other options. The PSU in question, for instance, offered Mane close to Rs 10 lakh as gross salary a year.

The Dombivli resident has been left wondering if the court will allow students hired this year to be taken aboard. "The company has not even withdrawn the offer letter, so we are clueless," he said.

Around seven PSUs had come to recruit students at IIT-B between December 2011 and February 2012, out of which four were among A grade employers as decided by the institute's policy. Around 25 students received offer letters from these PSUs. An official from the placement cell said, "All the selected students completed their respective academic programmes during May-July 2012 and left the campus. The companies have contact details of these students and vice versa. We have not received any complaint from the students."

In IIT-Madras, which is one of the respondents, the appointments of some 10-20 students placed in PSUs before February have been put on hold. An official said, "Usually, only 10-12 PSUs come for campus recruitments and they have high recruiting standards. Not many students get placement easily in PSUs. Some of the students who have been asked to hold on till mid-September, when the case will come up for hearing, have already got some offers off campus but they are still waiting for the order to come by."

The deputy registrar at IIT-Madras, B Nagarajan said, "Firms for this year's placements have already started visiting the campus for pre-placement talks (PPTs) and students. But we have not invited any PSUs this year as the matter is yet to come up for hearing."

At the 30 National Institutes of Technology where placement is still on, lack of clarity on which organization can participate during campus recruitment is leading to a lot of confusion. For instance, a telecom firm from Bangalore was slated to visit NIT-Nagpur, in the coming week, but the institute decided to cancel all the interview slots allotted to it. . Sources said the firm informed the college that it was not a PSU and hence unaffected by the Madras HC stay, yet the institute, "in the interest of students", felt all government organizations should be kept out of the process this year.

Same is the case with companies like Vizag Steel, bodies like Engineers India or government departments like DRDO and the Indian Space Research Organisation. Colleges received a communique from the HRD ministry on May 14, apprising them about the stay imposed by the Madras high court. "Following that order, the institute took a stand and decided that government organizations be kept out of this year's placement process," said a placement officer at NIT-Nagpur. In a slowed-down economy as this, it has meant that job options at top institutes have fallen. "Placement schedules for many colleges have gone awry. Several institutes are sending out invites to private firms in the middle of the placement season, something that has probably never happened," said a faculty member.