The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the University Grants Commission (UGC) to notify the draft regulations 2025 which deal with ragging, sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of caste, gender, disability, among other biases in institutions of higher learning.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh took note of a March 24 verdict, which considered the cases of suicides among students in such institutions and constituted a national task force (NTF) to address the mental health concerns of students to prevent such incidents.
"In light of this, we deem it appropriate to clarify that UGC may proceed with the finalisation of the draft regulations 2025 and may notify the same,” the bench said. The regulations, the court said, as held by this court in the case of Amit Kumar (March 24 verdict) operate in addition to the NTF's recommendations.
The bench was hearing a PIL which said pending the NTF's recommendations and consideration by the top court, the petitioners or any other public spirited person should be at liberty to move an appropriate plea in the pending proceedings to suggest the suitable addition or deletion in the regulations to be notified by the UGC.
The top court said it goes without saying such suggestions will be considered.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the mothers of students Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi, who allegedly died by suicide after facing caste-based discrimination, said the UGC had merged the guidelines for sexual harassments, ragging and discrimination.
While Vemula, a PhD scholar at Hyderabad Central University died on January 17, 2016, Tadvi, a student at TN Topiwala National Medical College, died on May 22, 2019, after she was subjected to purported discrimination by three doctors in her college.
Jaising had a heated debate with solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the Centre and the UGC, on the "interruptions during her arguments". She said the old regulations gave a very detailed description of what was discrimination.
"All those have been done away with in the proposed new regulations," she said.
Mehta, however, said since there was a verdict of the top court by a coordinate bench on March 24, the ongoing process of the NTF which was headed by former apex court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, should not be disturbed.
The court said if the proposed regulations were enacted, the NTF would have an opportunity to examine them and make its own recommendations on in case of shortcomings.
The top court passed the order on an intervention application filed in a PIL filed in 2019.
The UGC was previously ordered to notify draft regulations to ensure no caste-based discrimination happened with students in the central, state, private and deemed universities and asked for data on equal opportunity cells in compliance with the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions Regulations) 2012.
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