Supreme Courtroom urges UGC to supply information on caste discrimination complaints in universities

New Delhi [India], January 3 (ANI): The Supreme Courtroom on Friday directed the College Grants Fee (UGC) to compile and submit information on caste discrimination complaints acquired below its 2012 laws in universities and better academic establishments throughout the nation.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan requested UGC to submit information on what number of Central, state, deemed and personal universities and better academic establishments have arrange Equal Alternative Cells and the whole variety of complaints acquired below the UGC (Promotion of Fairness in Larger Instructional Establishments) Laws, 2012 alongwith motion taken experiences.
It took into consideration the submission of UGC that pursuant to sure suggestions a brand new set of laws has been formulated.
The highest court docket directed the UGC to inform laws and place the identical on file.
The order was handed on a PIL filed by the moms of Rohit Vemula and Payal Tadvi assailing caste discrimination in increased academic establishments.
Because the bench was knowledgeable that as many as 115 suicides have taken place in IITs alone between 2004 and 2024, it remarked that the court docket is “cognisant of the sensitivity of the matter” and would start listening to it periodically to seek out out a mechanism that may translate the 2012 Laws right into a actuality.
Through the listening to of the case, senior advocate Indira Jaising representing for petitioners contended that UGC didn’t implement the 2012 laws which have been meant to place an finish to discrimination primarily based on caste in increased academic establishments.
She requested the bench to hunt information from the Central authorities and the Nationwide Evaluation and Accreditation Council – concerning information in regards to the variety of suicides by college students belonging to the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe class in increased academic establishments.
The bench then requested Union and NAAC to file counter-affidavits inside 4 weeks.
Rohit Vemula, a PhD scholar at Hyderabad Central College, died by suicide on January 17, 2016, reportedly on account of caste discrimination.
Payal Tadvi, a tribal scholar at Tamil Nadu Topiwala Nationwide Medical School in Mumbai additionally died by suicide on Could 22, 2019, as she was allegedly subjected to caste-based discrimination by her upper-caste friends.
In 2019, their moms filed a PIL within the high court docket looking for a mechanism to finish caste-based discrimination on campuses.
They claimed that there’s a rampant prevalence of caste discrimination in opposition to members of the SC/ST group.
Additionally they sought a route to all Universities and better academic establishments to ascertain Equal Alternative Cells on the traces of such different present anti-discrimination inner complaints mechanisms and to incorporate members from the SC/ST communities and unbiased representatives from NGO’s or social activists to make sure objectivity and impartiality within the course of. (ANI)