Supreme Court to take up challenge against UGC’s new regulations today

The Supreme Court will hear petitions today challenging the UGC’s new regulations, raising concerns over autonomy, governance, and academic freedom.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to take up a PIL challenging the UGC regulations on caste-based discrimination over which a controversy erupted regarding it's definition. 

As per the latest information the Supreme Court will hear the petitions challenging the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026. 
 
According to the cause list uploaded on the apex court’s website, the matter will be taken up later in the day by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

The CJI agreed to consider the matter once procedural defects in the petition were rectified.

“We are aware of the issue. Ensure the defects are cured, and the case will be listed,” Chief Justice Surya Kant told the petitioner’s counsel.

During the mentioning, the counsel argued that the new regulations could lead to discrimination against individuals from the general category and raised concerns over the absence of an effective grievance redressal mechanism for them.

The plea challenges the UGC’s Equity Regulations on the ground that they institutionalise discrimination by limiting grievance redressal mechanisms exclusively to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, thereby excluding those from non-reserved categories.

It further contends that the regulations violate constitutional principles of equality and deny fair access to remedies within higher education institutions.

The petition specifically points out that the definition of “caste-based discrimination” under the regulations is restricted to SC, ST and OBC communities, excluding individuals from general or upper castes regardless of the nature or seriousness of discrimination faced by them.

Calling the framework discriminatory, the plea argues that it grants legal recognition of victimhood only to certain reserved categories while denying protection to others.

The petitioner has also sought directions to ensure that Equal Opportunity Centres, Equity Helplines, inquiry mechanisms and Ombudsperson proceedings function in a caste-neutral and non-discriminatory manner until Regulation 3(c) is reconsidered or amended.

It maintains that denying grievance redressal based solely on caste identity amounts to unconstitutional state discrimination and violates Articles 14, 15(1) and 21 of the Constitution.

(With inputs from IANS)