The Supreme Court is set to review a series of petitions contesting the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026. Scheduled for Thursday, a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi will address the matter. The Chief Justice had agreed to expedite the hearing after a plea challenging the regulations was urgently listed.
The petitioners’ counsel raised concerns about potential discrimination against individuals in the general category under the regulations. They highlighted the absence of effective grievance redressal mechanisms for this group. The plea argues that the UGC’s Equity Regulations could institutionalize discrimination by excluding grievance redressal avenues for non-SC/ST/OBC categories.
The petition challenges the regulations on grounds of equality and fair access to remedies in higher education institutions. It criticizes the limited scope of “caste-based discrimination” under the regulations, which it claims only protects specific reserved categories. The petition seeks to ensure that grievance redressal mechanisms are available in a non-discriminatory manner pending a review or amendment of Regulation 3(c).
