New Delhi, Jan. 29 -- Amid an uproar around the country, the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026.

The new UGC regulations, notified on January 23, were challenged by various petitioners as being arbitrary, exclusionary, discriminatory and in violation of the Constitution as well as the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.

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 regulations, introduced to curb...