Supreme Court directs UGC to collate data on complaints of caste discrimination in varsities

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the University Grants Commission to collate the total number of complaints of caste discrimination received under its 2012 regulations in universities and higher educational institutions in the country.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan granted six weeks’ time to the UGC to submit data on how many Central, state, deemed and private universities and institutions of higher learning have set up Equal Opportunity Cells under the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations of 2012. The bench sought information on the number of complaints received by them, and also the action taken on these grievances.

The court was hearing a 2019 plea filed by the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi. The appellants moved the apex court seeking action against the “rampant” caste discrimination in universities. Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar at Hyderabad Central University, and Payal Tadvi, a tribal student of Tamil Nadu Topiwala National Medical College, died by suicide in January 2016 and May 2019 respectively. Both allegedly faced caste bias on the campus.

The court said it would list the matter periodically, as after 2019, it was listed only once in 2023.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the mothers’, said the matter should be monitored regularly while pressing on the data regarding the complaints should be made available to the apex court. The bench told the UGC counsel that the court wants to see the data.

The bench was informed that 115 deaths by suicide had occurred between 2004 and 2024, many of them belonged to the Dalit communities.

“Ask them to produce the action taken report," Jaising said.

The UGC’s counsel said they have formulated an entirely new regulation, against on-campus caste discrimination, after considering all the aspects and it will be in the public domain seeking objections or opinions, and after that, it will be notified.

“But this matter has been pending since 2019," the bench said.

The UGC counsel said they started the exercise in 2023, against on-campus caste discrimination, and that the entire exercise has been done and it has been finalised.

“Today, we are in 2025. These kinds of things should not take that much time,” the bench said.

Jaising said they previously filed a sloppy affidavit, saying that a meeting will take place in 2023. She asked why a new committee was necessary.

The bench observed that it is on the aspect of regulation, if they have formulated effective tools may be on the expert advice of the committee.

“We do not mind that. We like to examine that; does it effectively resolve the problem? Is it there a white paper they want to produce” the bench asked.

Jaising said the UGC counsel should make it clear whether the regulations of 2012 and 2013, have been superseded.

The bench noted that petitioners’ have lost their children and it is conscious of the sensitivity of the issue while agreeing to list the matter periodically.

The bench said it was time the UGC showed “some sympathy” on this sensitive issue and directed the UGC to notify the new regulations, if any, and place it on record for the court’s consideration.

The apex court made the Centre and the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), parties in the matter and directed them to file counter affidavits to the petitions. The bench also sought the assistance of the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

The petitioners counsel said the UGC must come clean on whether the universities and other higher educational institutions were actually implementing the 2012 Regulations.

Jaising submitted that 419 of the 820-odd universities had replied “not applicable” to the query whether they had appointed Equal Opportunity Cells (EOCs) on their campuses.