Protests, plea in Supreme Court amid row over UGC rules | New regulations decoded

WLid ar UGC equity regulations, 2026?The young regulations ar a verbatim outcome of an August 2019 Supreme Court petition seeking stronger anti-discrimination safeguards in higher education. It was filed by Radhika Vemula and Abeda Salim Tadvi, mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi, who died by suicide in January 2016 and May 2019, respectively due to alleged caste discrimination. Acting on the plea, the court on January 3, 2025 directed UGC to frame new rules within six weeks. On February 27, 2025, the commission issued draft UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations.UGC on January 13 notified the equity regulations, 2026, updating its 2012 rules. Under the new framework, universities, colleges and deemed universities must establish an Equal Opportunity Centre with an Equity Committee to handle discrimination complaints and promote inclusion. The regulations aim to eradicate discrimination based on religion, race, caste, gender, place of birth and disability, and ensure “full equity and inclusion” in higher education.The revised rules define “caste-based discrimination” as discrimination “only on the basis of caste or tribe” against members of the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).Every institution must constitute an Equity Committee, chaired by the head of the institution, to inquire into complaints, recommend corrective action and protect complainants from retaliation, besides running a 24×7 equity helpline and online reporting system. The committee will include faculty, non-teaching staff, civil society and student representatives, with mandatory representation of OBCs, SCs, STs, persons with disabilities and women.UGC has warned of strict penalties for non-compliance, including denial of schemes and courses and even derecognition, holding institutional heads accountable to ensure campuses remain free of discrimination.Opponents argue that the definition of caste-based discrimination excludes students from the general category, creating a presumption of guilt against them. They also allege that general category students may face false cases since the final rules removed a provision for action against false complaints, which were there in the 2025 draft. Clause 10 of the draft stated: “Anyone who makes a false complaint of discrimination shall be liable to a fine as may be determined by the Equity Committee.” Notably, the 2012 regulations also did not contain a provision for action against false complaints.How have UGC and education ministry responded?Neither UGC nor the education ministry has issued an official response. However, officials said a clarification will be released (soon, presumably) to “remove confusion and misunderstanding”.Responding to claims that general category students were excluded from protection, an education ministry official  official told HT: “If you read the regulations, we have mentioned the definition of aggrieved person… aggrieved includes everybody. In the definition of aggrieved person, there is no mention of SC, ST, OBC and no mention of exclusion to general caste students or any other category.”According to the regulations, “Aggrieved person means a person who has any complaint in the matters relating to or connected with the grievances under these regulations.”On the removal of punishment for false complaints, the official said the clause was dropped after stakeholder consultations as it could deter victims from approaching authorities.In September 2025, the top court directed UGC to consider suggestions from petitioners. One submission said, “The revised regulations should completely do away with the regulation number 10… as there is a lot of fear amongst students especially from SC, ST and OBC communities to approach the Equity Committee in the first place.”What is the political fallout of new UGC regulations?Upper-caste groups had earlier protested in September 2018 against the BJP government’s decision to restore the SC/ST Act’s strict provisions in August 2018 through an amendment after the Supreme Court introduced safeguards to prevent the law’s misuse in March 2018. In response to these socio-political tensions, the government introduced a 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section among the general category.The current agitation marks a rare mobilisation against the BJP-led government over higher education regulations.In Uttar Pradesh, the government suspended Bareilly City Magistrate Alankar Agnihotri after he resigned in protest, calling the new rules a “black law”. He posted messages on Facebook holding placards reading “take back the black law” and “boycott BJP”.Do marginalised communities have any concerns about the new rules?Students and academics have broadly welcomed the regulations but raised concerns that they do not explicitly cover IITs, IIMs and stand-alone institutions, and that they remove detailed forms of discrimination mentioned in the 2012 rules.The 2026 regulations define “Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)” as universities, colleges and deemed universities under the UGC Act, 1956. An official said most institutions follow UGC norms in student and campus matters. In May 2025, Parliament’s standing committee on education led by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh recommended including OBCs and persons with disabilities in the definition of caste-based harassment, and introducing 50% representation of SCs, STs and OBCs in Equity Committees. It also asked UGC to include a comprehensive list of discriminatory practices in the regulations and warned that without such specificity, “it will be left to the discretion of the institute to decide whether a complaint is genuine or false.”UGC accepted most recommendations except reinstating a detailed list of discriminatory practices. The 2012 rules had explicitly listed classroom segregation, biased evaluation, hostel discrimination, denial of scholarships, targeted harassment and social exclusion, among others.