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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the implementation of the University Grants Commissions (UGC) equity regulations. These regulations pertain to the definition of caste discrimination. The apex court also issued notices to the UGC and the Central government, on the pleas challenging the new framework.
The court while passing this order said that they "wanted a free, equitable and inclusive atmosphere in educational institutions." But it warned that the new regulations were capable of dividing society.
The bench said that the earlier regulations which are in force since 2012, would continue to remain in operation till the time a final decision is made regarding the matter.
The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the new regulations of the UGC, which ask all higher educational institutions to constitute equity committees to address complaints of discrimination and promote equity. The petitioners described the regulations as unfair and said that they lacked adequate safeguards, according to reports.
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant had listed the matter for urgent hearing. The petitioners in the case are Mritunjay Tiwari, advocate Vineet Jindal and Rahul Dewan.
The CJI said that prima facie we can say that the language of the regulation is vague, experts need to examine it to modify its language so that it is not misused.
The ruling by the Supreme Court comes after massive student protests gripped the nation, as soon as the new rules were notified by the UGC on January 13. Protests were witnessed right from the North Campus in Delhi University to colleges in Patna.
In fact general category students gathered in front of the Vice Chancellor's office in DU demanding a rollback of University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions). In Patna, the student unions called for a nationwide bandh in protest against the new regulations.
In a separate development, the Bareilly City Magistrate Alankar Agnihotri, who had resigned from government service over the disagreement over the government policies, especially regarding the new UGC regulations, was suspended from service. He had claimed that the new regulations might lead to caste based violence on the University campuses across India. Following this, a departmental enquiry was instituted against him.
