Supreme Court orders audit of private and deemed universities after Amity student alleges harassment over name change

The top cout bench says it was necessary, in the larger public interest, to examine how private universities were created.

The Supreme Court has ordered a nationwide audit of all private and deemed universities to disclose how they are established, regulated and monitored.

According to the Bar and Bench, top court asked Centre, all states and UTs, and University Grants Commission (UGC) to submit personally sworn affidavits disclosing how these institutions were set up, who governs them, what regulatory approvals they hold, and whether they truly function on a not for-profit basis.

“The issues have now come before this Court, which the present coram has also deliberated in detail, in the larger public interest, it is deemed appropriate to examine the aspects relating to the creation/establishment/setting-up of all private Universities, either under the State Governments/Union Territories or the Central Government, and connected concerns,” the court said as quoted by Bar and Bench.

A Bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and NV Anjaria said it was necessary, in the larger public interest, to examine how private universities were created.

The bench was hearing a petition by Ayesha Jain (23) who approached the court after Amity University allegedly refused to change her name in its rolls despite her furnishing all legal documents. According to her,  she claimed that the university barred her from attending classes and even taunted her for changing her name to a Muslim name.

In 2021,   she changed her name from Khushi Jain to Ayesha Jain and published it in the Gazette of India. She completed a certificate course under her new name in 2023 and later joined an MBA programme at Amity Business School in 2024. According to her, the university still refused to update her name and blocked her from attending classes or appearing for exams.

The petition also accused Amity of misusing its authority and said that she lost a year of studies because of its conduct.

Jain approached moved the top court in mid-2025, accusing the university of arbitrariness and discrimination.

On October 9, the SC  directed Amity’s chairman and vice-chancellor to personally explain their position.

In 2005, the court struck down Chhattisgarh Private Universities Act that had allowed over 100 shell institutions to operate without basic academic infrastructure.

In 2009, it  found 44 deemed universities unfit for their status due to poor academic and governance standards.

In 2017, a Supreme Court verdict invalidated engineering degrees awarded via unapproved distance mode by deemed universities and barred them from conducting such courses without clear regulatory approval.

A UGC official, on condition of anonymity, told Times of India, “There have been longstanding compliance gaps. This is a chance to restore public trust.”