India's Government Considers Committee to Review Anti-Discrimination Regulations in Higher Education

The central government today, Thursday, November 5, told the Supreme Court that it is considering setting up a committee to review the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equality in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026. The court had stayed these regulations earlier this year. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, "The government is examining this matter so that the concerns of the students are addressed and no section feels dissatisfied or apprehensive." The chief justice stressed on the need to protect the interests of every student. The court has deferred this hearing of the petitions by four weeks. The case pertains to Abeda Salim Tadvi vs Union of India and other related matters. In 2019, the petition was filed by the mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi. These two students had faced caste discrimination in the year 2026 on the campuses. The petition had sought stronger safeguards against this discrimination in higher education institutions.