Delhi University on Tuesday banned protests, public meetings and processions on campus for one month, days after clashes during a demonstration linked to the 2026 University Grants Commission’s Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, The Hindu reported.

In an order, university Proctor Manoj Kumar Singh said that “such unrestricted gatherings” on campus may obstruct traffic, threaten human life and disturb public peace.

The order noted that organisers had previously failed to control such protests, leading to escalation and a deterioration of law and order on campus, the newspaper reported. The ban will remain in force for one month unless withdrawn earlier, it added.

It also noted that shouting slogans, making speeches and carrying hazardous materials have also been barred.

Singh told The Hindu that the ban was imposed following the recent clashes on campus.

The regulations, notified on January 13 by the University Grants Commission, led to protests by some upper-caste students, who argued that the framework could result in discrimination against them. They contended that the rules did not include safeguards against “false complaints”.

On January 29, the Supreme Court stayed the operation of the regulations, observing that their provisions were “prima facie vague and capable of misuse”. It asked the Union government to redraft the regulations. Until then, their operation will remain in abeyance.

On Friday, the All India Students’ Association, the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, held a protest in solidarity with the regulations.

During Friday’s protest, the All India Students’ Association alleged that a YouTuber named Ruchi Tiwari used casteist slurs about its members, The Hindu reported.

Tiwari, however, claimed that she was manhandled and assaulted by the protesters. Police have registered two first information reports after complaints were filed by both sides.

What the rules mandate

The University Grants Commission’s new equity rules require institutes to set up special committees, helplines and monitoring teams to address complaints, particularly from members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

The University Grants Commission had in 2012 first released equity rules for higher education institutes, which required them to set up Equal Opportunity Cells and Anti-Discrimination Officers. However, those rules did not provide for action against institutions that did not comply with them.

In contrast, the 2026 rules require the University Grants Commission to set up a monitoring committee to oversee their implementation.

Institutes that do not comply with the regulations can be barred from participating in the commission’s schemes, offering degree programmes and online courses, and can be removed from the list of institutes eligible to receive central grants.

Three writ petitions had been filed in the Supreme Court challenging Section 3(c) of the regulations, which defines caste-based discrimination as discrimination against members of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

One of the petitioners, advocate Vineet Jindal, had contended that the provision renders protection against caste discrimination non-inclusionary. He had argued that the provision, in its current “exclusionary form”, denies grievance redressal mechanisms and institutional protection to individuals who do not belong to the three categories.