The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the operation of the 2026 University Grants Commission’s Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, observing that their provisions were “prima facie vague and capable of misuse ”, Live Law reported. It also asked why incidents of ragging had been excluded from the ambit of the new rules, Live Law reported. The 2026 University Grants Commission Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations were notified on January 13 . The UGC had in 2012 first released equity rules for higher education institutes, which required them to set up Equal Opportunity Cells and Anti-Discrimination Officers. In contrast, the 2026 rules require the UGC to set up a monitoring committee to oversee their implementation.