New UGC guidelines: Do they brand general category students as presumed criminals? Fact Check
Claim : New UGC rules under BJP presume general category students guilty and enable branding them as presumed criminals.
Conclusion : The claim is false. While new UGC regulations were indeed notified in January 2026 by the government, they aim to prevent discrimination against marginalized groups, including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC), not mentioning specifically other categories. Without naming them does not mean the provisions presume general category (GC) students as guilty by default.
Rating : False — 
Social media users have recently been circulating a claim about the new UGC rules targeting general category students. Instagram user ‘nationalmertisociety’ shared such a claim, asserting that “BJP government has implemented the new UGC regulations in all colleges and universities across the country.
These new UGC rules have made the general category students the sole target, branding them as default criminals in any instance of caste bias on college campuses, setting the stage for the targeted persecution of GCs.” View the post below –
View this post on Instagram
FACT CHECK
DigitEYE India decided to investigate this claim and found that it is false. The new UGC guidelines aim to prevent discrimination against marginalized groups like Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). There is no evidence to prove that general category students will be “branded as presumed criminals” and all the investigations by the newly set up Equal Opportunity Centres (EOCs) and Equity Committees will be evidence based.
Details:
We first conducted a web search with the phrase “UGC guidelines to prevent discrimination 2026” to learn more. According to an Economic Times report, “these regulations are designed to eliminate caste-based discrimination and ensure equal treatment for all students and staff in colleges and universities.”
The report further states that an “Equity Committee must be established” under the Equal Opportunity Centres which will review the complaint and submit a report. View a section from the report below –
Next, we checked the official notification released by the University Grants Commission on January 13, 2026. The circular mentions that “Equal Opportunity Centre shall coordinate with the District Legal Services Authority and the State Legal Services Authority concerned to achieve the objectives of these regulations…” In cases of discrimination, the “Equity Committee shall thereafter submit its report to the Head of the Institution within 15 working days.” View a section from the circular below –
We did not find any clauses or instructions that are mentioned or directed towards general students. The notification tates that it pertains to the protection of marginalized groups as stated in their “purpose section”. The regulations define caste discrimination as biased treatment against SC, ST, and OBC, focusing on protection for these groups.
The notification also states that the Equity Committee must “have representation of Other Backward Classes, Persons with Disabilities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and women. “ View the objective of the document below and a section of the composition –
Finally, on January 29, 2026, the Supreme Court of India stepped in and ordered the rules to be kept in abeyance. As reported in India Today report, the Supreme Court said that the rules are prima facie “vague” and are “capable of misuse”. The report further takes into account how “new rules also mandate the representation of these communities in the new recommended committees, which the “upper castes” people say are “Draconian” as they exclude them.” View the screenshot of this section below –
While the UGC regulations maintain the guidelines are to promote equity, the Supreme court found them vague and prone to misuse. Otherwise, the claim that the guidelines tend to branding the general category students as presumed criminals is false.
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