"This is a welcoming decision": BJP MLA Pankaj Singh on SC stay on UGC Equity Regulations

"This was a burning issue, and the Supreme Court has stayed UGC's Equity Regulations, keeping in view the sentiments of millions of people. This is a welcoming decision...," the BJP MLA said.

Earlier in the day, Union Minister Giriraj Singh also thanked the Supreme Court for staying the new UGC regulations and asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has never discriminated against any section of society.

Speaking with ANI, Giriraj Singh said, "I thank everyone, including the country's Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. I thank the court for the decision it has passed. Prime Minister Modi has never discriminated against anyone in the country. It was Prime Minister Modi who gave reservations to EWS. People like us live only for the people of our country."

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 Court noted that this raises an unexamined concern: if a Group A Scheduled Caste individual makes discriminatory or derogatory remarks against a Group B Scheduled Caste individual, has this aspect been adequately addressed under the 2026 framework?

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)