Supreme Court Stays UGC Equity Rules 2026; Old Regulations to Continue

Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026.

 

 

The new UGC regulations, notified on January 23, were challenged by various petitioners as being arbitrary, exclusionary, discriminatory and in violation of the Constitution as well as the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.

 

 

The SC said that, for now, the 2012 UGC regulations will continue to apply. The Court opined that there is complete vagueness in Regulation 3 (C) (which defines caste-based discrimination), and it can be misused. "The language needs to be re-modified," the Court said.

 

 

The new regulations, introduced to curb caste-based discrimination in colleges and universities, require institutions to establish special committees and helplines to address complaints, especially from students belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) categories.

 

 

The new rules notified by the UGC on January 13, which update its 2012 regulations on the same subject, have sparked widespread criticism from general category students, who argue that the framework could lead to discrimination against them.

 

 

Earlier on Wednesday, students- mostly from the general category, held a protest at Delhi University’s North Campus against the newly announced UGC equity rules, demanding that they be withdrawn immediately.

 

The students said the new rules do not bring equality but instead encourage discrimination on university campuses. They pointed out that there was no binding provision for the representation of general category students.