The Central government told the Supreme Court on Thursday that it is mooting constitution of a committee to revisit the University Grants Commission (UGC)'s recently notified rules introduced to prevent caste discrimination in educational institutions.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central government, informed the a bench of Chief Justice of India (C JI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the government is examining the issue with a view to ensuring that students' concerns are addressed and no section feels dissatisfied or apprehensive.
The bench too stressed the need to protect the interests of every student and ensure that the younger generation is taken care of.
"Why don't you revisit the UGC Regulations?" the Court asked.
"The government has taken a decision that every student should be taken care of. Nobody should have any apprehension. Nobody should feel dissatisfied. We are also considering the interests of the younger generation. The government is contemplating appointing a committee," SG Mehta told the Court.
The Court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Regulations.
The University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026 (Regulations) were notified on January 13 and applies to all higher educational institutions in India.
The Regulations have been challenged before the Supreme Court for excluding 'general category' students from complaining under its grievance redressal mechanism.
The Court had in January this year ordered that the Regulations be kept in abeyance.
The regulations require higher educational institutions to establish Equal Opportunity Centers and Equity Committee for effective implementation of policies and programs for disadvantaged groups, and to enquire into the discrimination complaints.
Outside court, the regulations have sparked protests with upper-caste persons stating that these are one-sided and would be used against them in educational institutions.
The petitioners before the top court contended that the regulations are exclusionary as they deny grievance redressal and institutional protection to those not belonging to Scheduled Caste /Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) or Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories.
The petitioners said directions should be issued to restrain the implementation of the regulations in its present form and for a declaration that denial of access to grievance redressal mechanism on the basis of caste identity amounts to "impermissible State discrimination".
According to the plea, such selective framework not only condones but effectively encourages unchecked hostility against non-reserved categories, rendering the Regulations a tool for division rather than equity.
After the Court was told today that the government is examining the issue, the Court proceeded to defer the hearing in the case.