&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Supreme Court stays UGC equity regulations 2026 amid nationwide uproar: What next then?")
The Supreme Court of India stayed the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, on Thursday amid the row across the country. The move comes after the notified new UGC regulations on January 23 were challenged by several petitioners for being arbitrary, exclusionary, discriminatory and violating the Constitution as well as the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.
According to a report in the news agency ANI, the apex court stated that, for now, the 2012 UGC regulations will continue to apply. It also noted that Regulation 3 (C) (which defines caste-based discrimination) is vague, and it can be misused. "The language needs to be re-modified," the Court said.
The newly notified regulations, aimed at checking caste-based bias in higher education, mandate colleges and universities to set up dedicated committees and helplines to handle grievances, particularly from students belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Issued by the UGC on January 13 as an update to its 2012 guidelines, the rules have drawn sharp criticism from general category students, who fear the framework could result in discrimination against them. On Wednesday, students, mostly from the general category, held a protest at Delhi University’s North Campus, calling for the immediate rollback of the newly announced UGC equity regulations.
Dharmendra Pradhan assures no discrimination
The protesting students claimed that the new regulations foster discrimination on campuses instead of equality. They underscored that there was stringent provision for the representation of general category students.
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However, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday assured that there would be no discrimination in its implementation and the law would not be misused. Pradhan told news agency ANI, "I assure everyone there will be no discrimination and no one can misuse the law."
