The Supreme Court on Friday directed the University Grants Commission to collate complaints of caste discrimination it had received from universities and higher education institutions under its 2012 regulations, the Deccan Herald reported.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan granted the commission six weeks to submit the data.

The information will include the number of central, state, deemed and private universities and higher education institutions that have set up equal opportunity cells under the 2012 UGC Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions Regulations.

The court also asked for data on the total complaints received by the cells and the action taken in those matters, the Deccan Herald reported.

The bench was hearing a petition filed in 2019 by the mothers of Payal Tadvi and Rohith Vemula seeking action against caste discrimination in universities and other higher education institutions.

Tadvi, an Adivasi student at Mumbai’s Topiwala National Medical College, died by suicide in May 2019 after allegedly being subjected to casteist abuse by three doctors.

Vemula, a PhD scholar at Hyderabad Central University, died by suicide in January 2016, after he was allegedly discriminated against.

The court said it would list the matter periodically as it had been heard just once since 2019.

The University Grants Commission told the court that it has been working on fresh regulations since 2023 to curb caste discrimination on campuses.

Bhuyan said that it was time the commission showed “some sympathy” in the sensitive matter, The Hindu reported.

The newspaper quoted Kant as asking the commission: “How much time does the notification of regulations actually take?”

“We direct the UGC to notify the new regulations, if any, and place it on record for our consideration,” the bench said.