New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the University Grants Commission Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations 2026 after raising concerns over their wide social impact. The regulations required all higher education institutions to form equity committees to address discrimination complaints on campus.
A Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant said the rules carried sweeping consequences and risked dividing society. The Court examined arguments stating the regulations recognised caste based discrimination only against Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. Students from general or upper castes stood outside the protection framework under the new definition.
The petitioners highlighted campus ragging as a key concern. They said a general category student resisting ragging by a senior from a reserved category faced legal exposure under the regulations with no parallel remedy. The Court agreed the issue needed deeper scrutiny and placed the 2026 regulations in abeyance. It allowed the UGC Regulations of 2012 to remain in force for now.
The Bench issued notices to the Union government and the UGC on petitions challenging Regulation 3(c), which defined caste based discrimination in narrow terms. Senior advocate Indira Jaising opposed the stay. She argued the rules addressed ongoing discrimination faced by Dalit and historically oppressed students within higher education spaces.
Chief Justice Kant observed discrimination extended beyond caste. He referred to students arriving from the northeast and southern regions who faced ridicule over cultural practices. He described such conduct as severe ragging. Justice Joymalya Bagchi stressed the need for an all inclusive definition of discrimination. He warned against policies leading to segregation within campuses.
The Court questioned how social unity would survive outside campuses if divisions grew inside educational institutions.
