The new UGC regulations, notified on January 23, were challenged by various petitioners as being arbitrary, exclusionary, discriminatory and in violation of the Constitution as well as the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. The Top Court said that, for now, the 2012 UGC regulations will continue to apply. The Court opined that there is complete vagueness in Regulation 3 (C) (which defines caste-based discrimination), and it can be misused. The protesting students claimed that the rules promote discrimination on campuses instead of equality. They pointed out that there was no binding provision for the representation of general category students.