NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has directed the UGC to report how many complaints it has received regarding caste discrimination in higher education institutions and what action has been taken.

UGC should answer to three questions which are:

1. Out of total 820 universities (central/state/deemed) across the country, how many have setup Equal Opportunity Cells?
2. If set up, what is the composition of these Cells?
3. What is the nature of monitoring being done by UGC towards implementation of the 2012 Regulations?

The order came from a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan. This is in the background of the suicide of Dalit students Rohit Vemula and Dr Payal Thdvi. The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by Rohit's mother Radhika and Payal's mother Abeda Salim Tadvi seeking to issue guidelines to create a better environment for Dalit students in higher education institutions.

The petitioners pointed out that from 2004 to 2024 there were 115 suicides in IITs in the country alone. The court should seek an account of suicide in higher education institutions.

The court clarified that the argument can be heard on a case-by-case basis. The court granted four weeks' time to the UGC and the central government to file their affidavits.

Martyrs of Discrimination

• Rohit Vemula, who was a research student at the Central University of Hyderabad, committed suicide on January 17, 2016. Rohit, who was an activist of the Ambedkar Students Association, is accused of being a victim of caste discrimination on the campus. "My birth is my fatal accident," Rohit wrote in his suicide note
• On May 22, 2019, Payal Tadvi, a Scheduled Tribe student, committed suicide in the hostel room of Mumbai TN Topiwala National Medical College. Caste-based abuse and harassment were alleged to be the cause of suicide. Three senior medical students were arrested