New Delhi, Jan. 29 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, notified on January 23, 2026 which was challenged by various petitioners as being arbitrary, exclusionary, discriminatory and in violation of the of the Constitution as well as the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.

The pleas had chiefly argued that the UGC regulation defines 'caste-based discrimination' very narrowly, limiting it only to discrimination against SC, ST, and OBC communities.

While staying the 2026 UGC regulations in its entirety, a bench of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi termed the language of the provision that defines "caste-...