US EditionSupreme Court Stays UGC’s Promotion of Equity Regulations, Cites Constitutional Challenge
The Supreme Court paused the UGC's 2026 equity rules after petitions argued the caste discrimination definition excludes general castes, maintaining the 2012 rules instead.
- On January 29, 2026, the Supreme Court of India kept implementation of the University Grants Commission Regulations, 2026 in abeyance and ordered the 2012 regulations to remain in force.
- Petitioners Rahul Dewan, Mritunjay Tiwari and advocate Vineet Jindal argued Regulation 3 of the 2026 Regulations restricts caste-based discrimination to SC, ST and OBC, excluding general castes and creating a `hierarchy of victimhood`.
- A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked the Union government to redraft the regulations, observing provisions were `prima facie vague and capable of misuse` and questioning the court's verbal queries on separate definition and ragging exclusion.
- Implementation would have reshaped grievance redressal across higher education institutions, requiring special committees, helplines and monitoring teams for SC, ST and OBC complaints, with sanctions barring non-compliant institutes from UGC schemes, degree programmes and central grants.
- The 2026 regulations were notified on January 13 and prompted protests by upper-caste students who said the framework could discriminate and lacks safeguards against `false complaints`; Indira Jaising, Senior Advocate and Prasanna S., Advocate intervened against the stay.
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35 Articles
The Supreme Court has stayed the new UGC rule, which came into effect 17 days ago, until the next hearing and has sought responses from the central government and the UGC. Until then, the old 2012 rule will remain in effect. This entire development has now raised five questions that will determine the future course of this controversy.
Vague and can be misused: SC stays 2026 UGC regulations
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday, January 29, stayed a recent University Grants Commission (UGC) regulation after various pleas were filed contending that the Commission adopted a “non-inclusionary” definition of caste-based discrimination and excluded the general category from institutional protection. A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Centre and the UGC, requiring them to res…
‘Will Divide Society’: Supreme Court Stays UGC Equity Regulations 2026 | 📰 LatestLY
The CJI Kant-led Bench was hearing a clutch of petitions contending that the new regulations could result in discrimination against individuals in the general category and expressed concern over the denial of effective grievance redressal mechanisms for them. 📰 ‘Will Divide Society’: Supreme Court Stays UGC Equity Regulations 2026.
Supreme Court Halts Vague UGC Equity Regulations Amid Protests
Supreme Court Halts Vague UGC Equity Regulations Amid Protests The Supreme Court has temporarily stayed the University Grants Commission's (UGC) 2026 Equity Regulations, citing concerns over their simplicity and susceptibility to misuse. The apex court's decision follows several petitions highlighting the regulations' restrictive definition of caste-based discrimination, which excludes certain categories from receiving institutional protection.T…
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