The Supreme Court on Thursday put a pause on the implementation of the University Grants Commission's new anti-discrimination rules. The top court said that the guidelines were "vague" in nature and could be misused.
Issuing a formal notice to the government and the UGC, the apex court said that the contentious regulations would remain on hold till further notice.
Earlier this month, the UGC notified the new regulations that made it mandatory for all higher education institutions to constitute equity committees to look into complaints of discrimination and promote inclusion.
As per these rules, committees have to include members from the Other Backwards Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, persons with disabilities and women.
The rules do not have any provisions under which general category students can file complaints under the UGC's grievance redressal mechanism, leading to protests by students across several universities.
A bench chaired by Chief Justice Surya Kant said that the intervention was necessary as the UGC guidelines were "capable of dividing society". The top court said that the 2012 guidelines, which were advisory in nature, shall continue.
"If we don't intervene, it will lead to a dangerous impact, will divide society and will have a grave impact," the Chief Justice said.
He added, "Prima facie, we say that the language of the regulation is vague and experts need to look into it for the language is modulated so that it is not exploited".
Petitioners in the matter argued that the regulations are exclusionary in nature and deny institutional protection to those outside the SC, ST, or OBC categories. They said that a selective framework like this would lead to hostility against students belonging to the non-reserved categories.
They further mentioned that "all citizens must be protected," citing this as the "very mandate of the Constitution".
The UGC framed these regulations in response to a 2019 Public Interest Litigation filed in the Supreme Court by Radhika Vemula and Abeda Salim Tadvi, the mothers of Rohit Vemula and Payal Tadvi, respectively.
Both students are reported to have died by suicide after facing caste-based discrimination at their universities. The petition called for the creation of a mechanism to address and end caste discrimination on campuses.
The Supreme Court on Thursday put a pause on the implementation of the University Grants Commission's new anti-discrimination rules. The top court said that the guidelines were "vague" in nature and could be misused.
Issuing a formal notice to the government and the UGC, the apex court said that the contentious regulations would remain on hold till further notice.
Earlier this month, the UGC notified the new regulations that made it mandatory for all higher education institutions to constitute equity committees to look into complaints of discrimination and promote inclusion.
As per these rules, committees have to include members from the Other Backwards Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, persons with disabilities and women.
The rules do not have any provisions under which general category students can file complaints under the UGC's grievance redressal mechanism, leading to protests by students across several universities.
A bench chaired by Chief Justice Surya Kant said that the intervention was necessary as the UGC guidelines were "capable of dividing society". The top court said that the 2012 guidelines, which were advisory in nature, shall continue.
"If we don't intervene, it will lead to a dangerous impact, will divide society and will have a grave impact," the Chief Justice said.
He added, "Prima facie, we say that the language of the regulation is vague and experts need to look into it for the language is modulated so that it is not exploited".
Petitioners in the matter argued that the regulations are exclusionary in nature and deny institutional protection to those outside the SC, ST, or OBC categories. They said that a selective framework like this would lead to hostility against students belonging to the non-reserved categories.
They further mentioned that "all citizens must be protected," citing this as the "very mandate of the Constitution".
The UGC framed these regulations in response to a 2019 Public Interest Litigation filed in the Supreme Court by Radhika Vemula and Abeda Salim Tadvi, the mothers of Rohit Vemula and Payal Tadvi, respectively.
Both students are reported to have died by suicide after facing caste-based discrimination at their universities. The petition called for the creation of a mechanism to address and end caste discrimination on campuses.
