PUNE: 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, a bench comprising chief justice Suryakant and justice Joymalya Bagchi stayed the implementation of the new 2026 regulations. With the stay now in place, the earlier 2012 UGC regulations will continue to be in effect until further orders, with the matter scheduled for detailed hearing on March 19.

Meanwhile, students’ organisations in Pune reacted cautiously to the court’s decision, stressing the need for clarity and dialogue. Radheya Bahegavankar, secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), said that ensuring harmony and equality in educational institutions remains essential and called upon the UGC to address misconceptions surrounding the regulations.

“Ensuring harmony and equality in educational institutions is essential, and the ABVP has always strived for this. There should be social equality for all sections of society in educational campuses. Collective efforts are necessary to ensure a discrimination-free environment for all students,” Bahegavankar said.

Referring to the SC order, he noted that the apex court has put on hold the recently notified UGC regulations which adopt an exclusionary understanding of caste-based discrimination and leave out certain groups from institutional safeguards. He said that the SC’s decision to uphold constitutional values maintains communal harmony and will ensure equal justice for students of all castes and religions.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra State Youth Congress expressed concern that the stay might weaken the spirit of social justice. Akshay Jain, general secretary, Maharashtra State Youth Congress, said that while the organisation respects the judiciary, the Centre must take responsibility to ensure that students are protected from discrimination.

“We respect the judiciary, but the Centre must take responsibility for ensuring that the spirit of social justice is not weakened. Rules that protect students from discrimination should be strengthened, not stalled,” Jain said, adding that equity in higher education is about dignity and equal opportunity. He said that the Youth Congress respects the Supreme Court’s order but expects the government to ensure that no student suffers due to discrimination.

Strong criticism of the stay also came from political leader Prakash Ambedkar, who reacted on the social media platform X. Ambedkar described the Supreme Court’s stay as a troubling response to what he termed as a deplorable discourse surrounding the regulations.

“If the level of discourse surrounding the new UGC promotion of equity in higher education institutions regulations 2026 is deplorable, the recent SC stay on the new regulations represents a troubling judicial capitulation to that very discourse,” Ambedkar said, adding that the stay goes against constitutional ideas of substantive equality, social justice and democratic access to education.

Questioning the court’s observation that the regulations could divide society, Ambedkar argued that caste divisions already exist and that the regulations are meant as safeguards against caste discrimination. Calling the protests against the rules deeply concerning, he said opposing basic equity measures is a blow to the memory of Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi and thousands of others who faced caste discrimination in educational institutions, describing the development as ‘a sad day’.

The SC’s interim order has left universities across the country in a wait-and-watch mode, as the future of the 2026 equity regulations now hinges on the outcome of the next hearing on March 19, 2026.