On January 29, 2026, the Supreme Court of India temporarily stopped the University Grants Commission's 2026 regulations on reservation in higher education. The court said these new rules unfairly give reservation only to SC, ST, and OBC groups, leaving out general or upper castes. Chief Justice Surya Kant called the regulations “too sweeping” and said they needed a detailed review. Meanwhile, the older 2012 UGC regulations will remain in force. The court sent notices to the Union Government and UGC about petitions challenging Regulation 3(c) of the 2026 rules. This regulation defines 'caste-based discrimination' narrowly, applying only to SC, ST, and OBC members. Senior advocates Indira Jaising and Prasanna .S. opposed the court’s pause on these rules. Jaising said that halting the rules was like “calling a fully-abled person as disabled” and stressed that the regulations address real discrimination against Dalit and oppressed caste students in universities. However, petitioners Rahul Dewan, Mritunjay Tiwari, and Vineet Jindal argued that the new rules wrongly exclude general category students from protection. They said this creates a biased legal system, ignores cases of caste discrimination in the general category, and violates Article 14 of the Constitution. The 2026 regulations were meant to replace the 2012 rules to promote fairness and a discrimination-free environment in line with the National Education Policy, 2020. But critics say the new rules wrongly assume caste discrimination happens only against reserved groups, ignoring changing social realities and excluding some victims. The Supreme Court’s stay means these issues will be examined carefully before deciding if the new regulations can go ahead.