SC approves finalisation of UGC Regulations 2025
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Thursday green signalled finalisation and notifying of University Grants Commission framed 2025 Regulations to curb caste-based discriminations in
higher educational institutions
(HEIs) while observing that the recommendations by SC appointed National Task Force on curbing student suicide in HEIs would be considered separately.
Appearing for mothers of students, including Rohit Vemula who had committed suicide, senior advocate
Indira Jaising
strived hard to convince a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh that UGC's draft regulations fell short of expectations and that it should not either be notified or enforced till the NTF headed by former SC judge S Ravindra Bhat gave its recommendations on measures to curb such unfortunate incidents.
When solicitor general Tushar Mehta attempted to convey to the court that the Regulations, framed after taking views of all stakeholders, are being finalised, a mercurial Jaising flared up accusing Mehta of interjecting unnecessarily.
"If the Regulations meet even a fraction of the expectations for ensuring a non-discriminatory atmosphere in the HEIs, it would be beneficial for those silent majority who are waiting for a fresh UGC Regulation," Justice Kant-led bench said.
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The Congress party had promised to provide internal quotas for the SC community ahead of the 2023 state polls after Siddaramaiah had hesitated to implement internal quotas during his first tenure (2013-2018). The internal quota formulas, where the Dalit Left group got a larger share of the 17 per cent reservation, was opposed by politically stronger groups in the Congress, like the Dalit Right group which has prominent leaders like All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge and state Home Minister G Parameshwara. The touchable group has also opposed internal quotas. The delay in implementation of the internal quota system for Dalits had led to a freeze in government recruitments in Karnataka since October 2024. The decision to implement a new 6:6:5 quota plan is expected to restart the hiring process. The report on the social, economic, and educational situation of the SCs, prepared by a Commission headed by retired high court judge Justice H N Nagamohan Das, was presented to Siddaramaiah on August 4 and it was accepted by the government during a Cabinet meeting on August 7. A survey of SC subcastes, conducted on the recommendation of the Commission, found that the total SC population in Karnataka is 1,07,01,982. However, after removing the Budaga Jangam-Beda Jangam population (1,77,662) – regarding which there is a controversy due to a similar subcaste nomenclature among Lingayats – and the number of inter-caste married people who are not Scheduled Castes (14,449), the total population of SCs has been recorded as 1,05,09,871. As per the 2011 Census, the population of SC communities in Karnataka was 17 per cent (1.04 crore) of the total population (6.1 crore). The Commission recommended classifying the Dalit sub-castes into five categories, instead of the existing four, and to accord reservations according to their backwardness. 'Each category includes many castes. If the 17% reservation available for Scheduled Castes in the state of Karnataka is to be distributed to these categories, the reservation should be distributed according to their population,' the commission has stated in its report. 'However, if the reservation quota is distributed only according to population, the goal of social justice cannot be achieved. In addition to population, the reservation quota should be determined keeping in mind the educational, occupational, and social backwardness. It needs to be distributed,' the Commission stated in its report. The Commission recommended one per cent reservation to Category A, comprising 59 SC sub-castes with a population of 3.97 per cent; and six per cent for Category B (SC Left group), which is considered the most backward and constitutes 34.91 per cent of the SC population with 18 sub-castes. The Commission also recommended five per cent for Category C (SC Right group), who are considered less backward and politically established, and constitute 28.63 per cent of the SC population with 17 sub-castes; and four per cent for Category D (the 'touchables') who make up 26.97 per cent of SCs with four subcastes. A new Category E comprising 4.52 per cent of the SC population who have not been identified under a clear sub-caste but have been classified under three broad sub-groupings of Adi Dravida, Adi Andhra, and Adi Karnataka, has been recommended one per cent reservation. 'In the last 75 years, some Scheduled Castes have been empowered to some extent by enjoying reservation facilities. 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The survey also saw leaders of various SC communities directing community members to clearly state their sub-castes. As per the Supreme Court, classification of sub-castes can be done on the basis of educational backwardness, lack of representation in government employment, and social backwardness. The survey of sub-castes is part of the Congress government's efforts to fulfil an electoral promise to provide internal reservations for socially weaker sub-castes within the SC quota in the state. In Karnataka, the SC community is currently classified under four broad heads – the SC Left (the most backward like the Madigas who were considered untouchables in the caste system); the SC Right (like the Holeyas, who are less backward and accepted by other castes); the 'touchable' communities such as Banjaras and Bhovis (who are tribes in other states); and dozens of small communities who are classified as Others. The Dalit community has long demanded the caste survey to ascertain the numbers in each of the sub-castes to decide the division of quotas in government jobs, education, and political representation, which is now allegedly hogged by upwardly mobile social groups among the SCs like the Holeyas, and the Banjaras and Bhovis. The Justice Nagamohan Das Commission was set up by the Congress government after the previous BJP government (2019-2023) arrived at an ad hoc sub-quota number. During its tenure between 2019 and March 2023, the BJP government had enhanced SC quotas in the state from 15 per cent to 17 per cent in 2022, and announced internal reservation for SC communities in March 2023 by providing six per cent of the total of 17 per cent quota for the community to the SC Left group, 5.5 per cent to the SC Right group, 4.5 per cent to the touchables and one per cent to other SC groups. The BJP government fixed the internal quota on an ad hoc basis by considering the 2011 caste census numbers and by considering certain aspects of the 2012 Justice A J Sadashiva Commission report on internal quotas, while rejecting the Sadashiva Commission report itself. The most backward Dalit groups, like the Madigas, have been demanding the implementation of the Justice Sadashiva Commission report on account of the Commission recommending six per cent for the SC Left group, five per cent for the backward SC Right, three per cent for the 'touchable' group (Lambani, Bhovis, Korachas, Kormas), and one per cent for others. The Commission found that the majority of the reservation for the 101 sub-sects of Dalits in Karnataka was being cornered by the Dalit Right, including the Holeyas, and new SC groups like Bhovis and Lambanis, while the most backward groups, like the Madigas, remained deprived. The BJP's internal quota scheme backfired on the party to some extent, with the 'touchable' groups like the Bhovis and Banjaras expressing their displeasure against the party during the 2023 polls over the reduced internal quota of 4.5 per cent (against the previous 15 per cent) available to them. The BJP's scheme was, however, not implemented since the mandate for changing internal quotas was vested with the Union government at the time. In August 2024, a Supreme Court ruling said the granting of internal reservation is a constitutional measure and states can implement it on the basis of empirical data. While constituting the Justice Nagamohan Das Commission, the government felt that internal reservations for SCs based on population numbers – like in the Sadashiva Commission report – could possibly be struck down by courts for want of proper data as ordered by the Supreme Court. 'In the wake of three decades of continuous demands and pressure for internal reservation in the state, the Cabinet has agreed in principle to provide internal reservation for Scheduled Castes. There are 101 sub-castes…and the government has decided to take all of them into confidence and scientifically implement internal reservation,' Siddaramaiah said in 2024 when the Cabinet decided to set up the new Commission. The chief minister indicated that the Telangana government had already constituted a Commission along the same lines for the implementation of internal reservation, and that data is required for the scientific implementation of internal reservation as directed by the top court. Politically, the SC internal quota issue is a tricky subject for the Congress in Karnataka which has traditionally drawn its support from the SC Right group to which many of its prominent leaders belong. While the SC Left has supported the Congress in the past, many of these communities have moved towards the BJP in recent times on account of alleged neglect by the Congress in terms of political representation and opportunities. The most prominent SC Left leader in the Congress at present is K H Muniyappa, a seven-time MP and former Union minister. The SC Right group and the 'touchables', who have reportedly enjoyed the most access to the entire 15 per cent SC quota available in the state until now, are expected to resist any move by the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet to divide the SC quota in the state since these two politically powerful groups will get reduced shares of five per cent and four per cent, respectively. Total population- 1,05,09,871 Total subcastes – 101 Total reservation – 17%
