Supreme Court Halts New UGC Equity Regulations Over Concerns of Exclusionary Approach to Discrimination

NEW DELHI, January 29, 2026 — The Supreme Court of India has stayed the recently notified University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations, 2026, following a series of petitions alleging that the new framework adopts an “exclusionary approach” to addressing campus bias.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Union Government and the UGC after petitioners argued that the rules—which mandate the creation of “Equity Committees”—narrowly define caste-based discrimination.

While the regulations aimed to replace the advisory 2012 framework with mandatory enforcement for SC, ST, OBC, women, and persons with disabilities, critics contend that by specifically naming these categories, the law inadvertently denies institutional protection to individuals from the general category who may also face harassment.

Amid widespread student protests demanding a total withdrawal of the notification, the apex court’s intervention puts a temporary freeze on the mandate as it examines whether the new rules violate the principle of equal protection for all social categories.(Agencies )