UGC rules on caste discrimination: Why BJP govt is ‘reconsidering’ its stand

With the BJP-led Centre telling the Supreme Court on Thursday that it is reconsidering the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) equity regulation that has been challenged before it, the Narendra Modi government has taken a calibrated step towards buying time to wriggle out of a situation that has led to signs of anger among upper castes, the core constituency of the party since 1989, over potential “misuse”.

At the same time, the BJP has to tread cautiously, as the combined demographic weight of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs) far exceeds the upper castes.

“It is being reconsidered,” solicitor general Tushar Mehta told a three-judge Bench presided over by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The Bench was hearing a batch of petitions that challenged the guidelines, primarily arguing that they refer to caste-based discrimination only against members of SCs, STs, and OBCs, communities while excluding those from the general category.

The main objection against the regulations that saw the light of day in January 2026 was that there was the absence of provision for penalties against “false complaints of discrimination”, and that institutions could be subjected to action for not complying with the regulations.

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What led to anger was that a draft of the regulations shared for feedback in February last year had provided for penalties in the case of false complaints.