SC to hear petitions challenging UGC’s new regulations todayNew Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on Thursday a batch of petitions challenging the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026. Earlier on Wednesday, the CJI had agreed to list for hearing a plea challenging the said regulations after the matter was mentioned for urgent listing. The petitioner’s counsel had submitted that the regulations could result in discrimination against individuals in the general category and expressed concern over the denial of effective grievance redressal mechanisms for them. The plea challenges the UGC’s Equity Regulations, alleging that the framework institutionalises discrimination by denying grievance redressal mechanisms to persons belonging to non-SC/ST/OBC categories. It argued that denial of access to grievance redressal mechanisms on the basis of caste identity amounts to impermissible state discrimination and violates Articles 14, 15(1), and 21 of the Constitution.