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Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Thursday said that there's no need to comment on the Supreme Court's stay on the new University Grants Commission's equity regulations and assured that the government will comply with the order.
"The Supreme Court has stayed the order issued by UGC. There is no need to comment on the court's decision; the government will comply with the order," Keshav Prasad Maurya said. Meanwhile, Congress Leader T S Singh Deo also pointed out that the clause for action against the false complainants has been removed in the new regulations. "A section of society has been exploited the most for decades, and to protect them, laws have been enacted, such as the SC/ST Protection Act and the Women's Safety Act, along with UGC guidelines which later underwent many changes and reforms from time to time. The UGC has introduced regulations to safeguard the rights of SC, ST, and OBC communities. A major flaw that I see is that in the 2012 rules there was a clause for action against false complainants, which has been removed in the new regulations," he said. AAP MP Malwinder Singh Kang told ANI, "Educational institutions should consider merit as such regulations dilute institutions' autonomy and independence. I think the Supreme Court has given its verdict considering merit over reservations." Amid an uproar around the country over the alleged "discrimination" against the General Category in the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, the SC on Thursday stayed 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. The new UGC regulations, notified on January 23, were challenged by various petitioners as arbitrary, exclusionary, discriminatory, and in violation of the Constitution and the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. 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. Students, mostly from the general category, protested against regulations that promote discrimination on campuses rather than equality. The students noted that the regulation has no provision to address fraudulent complaints filed against General Category students. (ANI)
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