Today, On 28th January, The Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea challenging UGC’s new rules to prevent caste discrimination in educational institutions. CJI Surya Kant said, “We know what’s happening. Make sure defects are cured. We will list it.”
The Supreme Court agreed to consider a plea contesting the recently introduced rules by the University Grants Commission (UGC) aimed at curbing caste discrimination in educational institutions.
The challenge arises from the allegation that these rules exclude ‘general category’ students from utilizing the grievance redressal mechanism.
This plea was brought before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, who acknowledged the urgency, stating,
“We know what’s happening. Make sure defects are cured. We will list it.”
The University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, were issued on January 13 and are applicable to all higher education institutions across India.
Their purpose is to “eradicate discrimination only on the basis of religion, race, gender, place of birth, caste, or disability, particularly against the members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, socially and educationally backward classes, economically weaker sections, persons with disabilities, or any of them, and to promote full equity and inclusion amongst the stakeholders in higher education institutions.”
These regulations mandate that higher educational institutions create Equal Opportunity Centers and an Equity Committee to ensure proper implementation of policies and programs aimed at supporting disadvantaged groups and to address complaints of discrimination.
However, the plea argues that the regulations are exclusionary as they deny grievance redressal and institutional protection to individuals not classified as belonging to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) or Other Backward Classes (OBC).
The petitioner is requesting a halt to the regulations’ enforcement in their current form and seeks a declaration that restricting access to the grievance redressal mechanism based on caste identity constitutes “impermissible State discrimination.”
According to the plea, This selective approach not only permits but seems to promote unchecked hostility towards non-reserved categories, positioning the Regulations as a means of division rather than equity,
Outside the court, these regulations have triggered protests from members of dominant castes, who argue that the rules are biased and could be used against them in educational settings.
Numerous petitions and applications challenging the regulations have been submitted to the Supreme Court, including the case of Rahul Dewan and others versus the Union of India.