UGC’s New Equity Squad Regulations Face Constitutional Scrutiny
The University Grants Commission’s (UGC) 2024 regulations for an ‘Equity Squad’ in colleges are under fire for potential constitutional violations and operational risks. Legal experts warn the rules, aimed at protecting SC, ST, OBC, and minority students, may create discrimination and campus vigilantism.
Key Concerns with the Equity Squad Framework
- Selective Redressal: The Squad is mandated to handle complaints only from specific caste and community groups, excluding general category students.
- Constitutional Conflict: This selective approach is seen as violating Article 14’s guarantee of equality before the law for all persons.
- Risk of Bias & Vigilantism: The Squad’s composition from the same communities it serves, combined with powers for surprise visits and recommendations, could fuel conflicts of interest and intimidation.
- Overlap with Existing Systems: The new body clashes with established mechanisms like Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) and SC/ST Cells, risking confusion and diluted authority.
The Core Constitutional Flaw
The most glaring issue is the creation of a grievance mechanism based on ascriptive identities. By limiting its scope to specific castes and communities, the regulations establish a classification that legal experts argue fails the constitutional tests of intelligible differential and rational nexus. The goal is a discrimination-free campus, but the means—a non-universal system—undermine the principle of equality itself.
Operational Risks and Power Conflicts
The regulations empower the institution-head-formed Squad to conduct surprise visits anywhere on campus and recommend actions. Vesting such surveillance and recommendatory authority in an identity-based body, critics contend, opens the door for misuse, personal vendettas, and an atmosphere of fear. Furthermore, it creates a parallel structure that overlaps with and could undermine statutory bodies like the ICCs formed under the 2013 Sexual Harassment Act.
The Path Forward: Universal Mechanisms
Analysts suggest the UGC’s intent is commendable but its method is flawed. The solution lies not in creating exclusive squads but in strengthening existing systems to be more sensitive, prompt, and impartial for all students. An equitable campus requires universal mechanisms that uphold constitutional morality, not new fault lines along community identities. A thorough review to align the regulations with foundational principles of justice is urgently needed.
