India, Jan. 30 -- The Supreme Court (SC) on January 29 stayed the implementation of the University Grants Commission's (UGC's) promotion of equity in higher education institutions regulations 2026, following multiple petitions alleging that the new framework adopts an exclusionary understanding of caste-based discrimination and fails to provide institutional safeguards to certain groups.

The regulations, notified earlier this month on January 13, were intended to strengthen mechanisms against caste-based discrimination in colleges and universities. However, they soon sparked protests from sections of students and social organisations, prompting legal challenges and eventually judicial intervention. To the extent that on January 29, 2026,...