Supreme Court Puts Stay on UGC’s New Regulations

On 29 January, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the new regulations issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) until further orders. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Suryakant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the provisions of the new rules are unclear and could be misused.

The court made these observations while hearing petitions filed by Mrityunjay Tiwari, advocate Vineet Jindal, and Rahul Diwan. The petitioners alleged that the new UGC regulations discriminate against students belonging to the general category.

The UGC had notified the new regulations on 13 January, following which they faced widespread opposition across the country. The Supreme Court has now issued notices to the Central Government and the UGC, seeking their response, and has directed that the draft rules be reworked.

The court stated that the next hearing in the matter will take place on 19 March. Until then, the 2012 UGC regulations will continue to remain in force across the country.

The bench questioned why there was a need to separately define “caste-based discrimination” when the definition of “discrimination” already covers all forms of discrimination.

The court also raised concerns over why ragging was not included in the regulations, despite being a major issue on educational campuses.

The Chief Justice remarked that many individuals from Scheduled Castes are now economically well-off and questioned whether the country was moving backward after progressing toward a casteless society.

The CJI strongly objected to the proposal of separate hostels for different castes, stating, “For God’s sake, do not do this. We used to live together, inter-caste marriages are common today. India’s unity must also be reflected in educational institutions.”