The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a recent University Grants Commission (UGC) regulation that mandated all higher education institutions to form “equity committees” to look into discrimination complaints and promote equity.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Centre and the UGC on the various pleas challenging the regulation, contending that the Commission adopted a non-inclusionary definition of caste-based discrimination and excluded certain categories from institutional protection.
On January 13, the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, was notified, mandating that these equity committees must include members of the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST), persons with disabilities, and women.
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The new regulations replace the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012, which were largely advisory in nature.
The petitions challenging the latest regulation assailed it on the grounds that caste-based discrimination is defined strictly as discrimination against members of the SCs, STs and OBCs, and effectively denies institutional protection and grievance redressal to individuals belonging to the “general” or non-reserved categories who may also face harassment or bias based on their caste identity.
Protests were held at various places against the regulations, with student groups and organisations demanding its immediate rollback.
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