'Won't allow misuse': Dharmendra Pradhan defends new UGC rules

NEW DELHI: Union acquisition curate Dharmendra Pradhan connected Tuesday assured that the caller University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, issued to code caste-based favoritism connected campuses, would not beryllium misused.“I would similar to guarantee everyone that nary misuse of the instrumentality successful the sanction of favoritism volition beryllium allowed. Ensuring this is the work of the UGC, the Government of India, and authorities governments. All actions volition beryllium carried retired wrong the ambit of the Constitution. This substance is besides nether the supervision of the Supreme Court, and I guarantee you that determination volition beryllium nary discrimination,” Pradhan told reporters.

Notified connected January 13, the Promotion of Equity successful Higher Education Institutions Regulations, 2026, person drawn wide disapproval from wide class students, who reason that the model could pb to favoritism against them.Under the caller regulations, the UGC has directed institutions to acceptable up peculiar committees, helplines, and monitoring teams to grip complaints, peculiarly from SC, ST, and OBC students.Meanwhile, a plea has besides been filed successful the Supreme Court, with the petitioner alleging that 1 proviso nether the argumentation is “non-inclusionary” and fails to support students and module extracurricular reserved categories.“By limiting the scope of ‘caste-based discrimination’ lone to SC, ST, and OBC categories, the UGC has efficaciously denied organization extortion and grievance redressal to individuals belonging to the wide oregon non-reserved categories who whitethorn besides look harassment oregon bias based connected their caste identity,” the petitioner, Vineet Jindal, stated.

Jindal claimed that the regularisation violates the cardinal rights guaranteed nether Articles 14 (right to equality) and 15(1) (prohibition of favoritism by the State connected grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, oregon spot of birth). He besides argued that it infringes Article 21 (the close to beingness and idiosyncratic liberty, which includes the close to unrecorded with dignity) of the Constitution.The plea has sought interim directions to the Union authorities and the UGC to guarantee that the Equal Opportunity Centres, Equity Helplines, and Ombudsperson mechanisms acceptable up nether the regulations are made accessible to each students connected a non-discriminatory basis, pending a ceremonial reappraisal of the definition.