UGC Guidelines: All parties will accept SC judgment, says UP Minister

UP Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said all parties will accept the Supreme Court's ruling on the new UGC equity guidelines. The SC had stayed the regulations, citing 'complete vagueness' and potential for misuse of the anti-discrimination rules.

Uttar Pradesh Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar, on Thursday, said that the Supreme Court's judgment will be accepted by all the parties on the issue of University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines. He stated that both sides involved in the matter would respect and abide by the judicial decision concerning the new regulations. "It's up to the court. Whatever the court decides will be accepted by all. Both sides would accept the court's decision. The government will present its case before the court, and both sides will present theirs," said Rajbhar.

Protests Banned at Delhi University

Meanwhile, on February 17, Delhi University prohibited meetings, processions, and protests for a period of one month. This development came days after chaos erupted at a protest demanding implementation of the new University Grants Commission (UGC) equity guidelines, which the Supreme Court put on hold, citing "complete vagueness" in the rules and potential misuse.

Supreme Court Stays New UGC Regulations

On January 29, the SC stayed the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, following nationwide uproar over alleged "discrimination" against the General Category in the regulations.

The Top Court said that, for now, the 2012 UGC regulations will continue to apply. The Court opined that there is complete vagueness in Regulation 3 (C) (which defines caste-based discrimination), and it can be misused. "The language needs to be re-modified," the Court said.

After 75 years of trying to make a caste-less society, whether the direction of policy-making is progressive or tending towards a regressive approach, it asked. The new regulations, introduced to curb caste-based discrimination in colleges and universities, require institutions to establish special committees and helplines to address complaints from students in the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backwards Classes (OBC) categories. (ANI)

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