UGC Equity Regulations, 2026: Need for Balancing Equality with Social Justice*

On 13 January 2026, the University Grants Commission (UGC) notified the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026 (hereafter the Equity Regulations, 2026 ). Since then, there have been widespread agitations and protests, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and certain universities in Delhi. The Supreme Court of India heard the Public Interest Litigations and stayed the implementation of the Equity Regulations, 2026 . The way ahead is to strike a balance between the competing concerns of equality and social justice. The Equity Regulations, 2026 require refinement by expanding the grounds of discrimination to include other forms, such as religion, race and language. The clause providing for punishment of false complainants needs to be revoked. The presumptive exclusion of the general category needs to be addressed to make the Regulations more inclusive. In doing so, the hard-earned institutional mechanisms to check discriminatory practices against historically marginalised sections must remain undisturbed and be retained.