SC gives Centre more time to review UGC norms on caste discrimination and ragging

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to take concrete action on caste discrimination in higher education institutions. It deferred the hearing on petitions challenging the University Grants Commission's new equity rules after the government said it was considering a committee to revisit them.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the government was looking at the issue to make sure that the concerns of every student were addressed. 

He said the government was contemplating appointing a committee.

The bench said the interests of all students had to be protected and asked the Centre why it did not revisit the regulations.

The court was hearing a batch of petitions against the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026.

The UGC notified the rules on January 13 and they apply to all higher education institutions.

They require institutions to set up Equal Opportunity Centres and Equity Committees and to look into complaints of discrimination.

The petitioners say the regulations leave out students who are not from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes, because those students cannot use the grievance mechanism.

They argue that this denies protection to the general category and turns a tool meant for equity into one that divides.

They want the rules stopped in their present form.

The Supreme Court had put the regulations in abeyance in January after prima facie finding some provisions vague and open to misuse.

They stay on hold.

The rules also led to protests outside court by upper-caste groups, who said they were one-sided and could be used against them on campuses.

The regulations grew out of a 2019 public interest petition by Radhika Vemula and Abeda Salim Tadvi, the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi. 

Both students died by suicide after facing alleged caste-based harassment. The petition asked for a mechanism to end caste discrimination on campuses, and the Supreme Court had earlier asked the UGC to frame regulations.