Caste discrimination on campus: SC seeks data from UGC in 6 weeks

Amid allegations of caste discrimination on college campuses, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) to furnish in six weeks data from central, state, private and deemed universities with regard to setting up of Equal Opportunity Cells and the number of complaints received by them.

Equal Opportunity Cells are required to be set up under Section 3(f) of the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012.

A Bench led by Justice Surya Kant directed the UGC -- which regulates higher education in India -- to notify draft regulations to ensure no caste-based discrimination happened in the central, state, private and deemed universities.

The Bench – which also included Justice Ujjal Bhuyan -- directed the UGC to furnish data on the number of institutions which have already set up Equal Opportunity Cells in compliance with the 2012 UGC Regulations along with action taken reports.

The top court also asked the Centre to respond to a PIL filed by mothers of Rohith Vemula and Payal Tadvi, who allegedly died by suicide after facing caste-based discrimination.

Vemula, a PhD scholar at Hyderabad Central University, died on January 17, 2016, while Tadvi, a student at TN Topiwala National Medical College, died on May 22, 2019, after allegedly being subjected to purported discrimination by three doctors in her college.

The PIL seeking strict compliance of the 2012 UGC Regulations was filed in 2019 but no substantial hearing had taken place. However, the Bench said, "From now on we will list this petition periodically so that some effective solution could be found in the matter as since 2019 nothing much has happened."

The Bench said it would devise an effective mechanism to deal with caste-based discrimination on educational campuses across India.  "We are equally conscious of this sensitive issue. We will do something. We will have to find out some effective mechanism and modalities to see that the 2012 Regulations are translated into reality," it said.

On behalf of the petitioners, senior counsel Indira Jaising submitted that since 2004 over 50 students -- mostly from SC/ST communities – ended their lives in IITs and other institutions following alleged discrimination. “Out of 820 universities (central/state/deemed) across the country, how many have set up Equal Opportunity Cells?” she asked.

The UGC counsel said a committee set up by it has given recommendation and the commission drafted new regulations to stop caste-based discrimination. The draft regulations needed to be put on the UGC website for a month to invite objections and suggestions from the public in a month before notifying them, he said.

"How much time is needed to notify the new regulations? You do it in one month and place it on record," the Bench said, posting it for further hearing after six weeks.