New Delhi, Aug. 21 -- The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the regulations for promoting equity in higher educational institutions is being reconsidered after the court had put it in abeyance in January this year citing it to be "vague" and open to "misuse". The submission was made before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant hearing a batch of petitions supporting and opposing the regulations. The court posted the matter after six weeks and said, "Since the regulations are under consideration before this court, it will be appropriate that a decision is taken by the Centre before the next date of hearing." It was on January 29, the top court had stayed the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations 2026 soon after it was notified on January 13 that led to widespread discontent among general category students who claimed that the set of rules were unfair to them. Some of the petitions which opposed these regulations objected to the definition of "caste-based discrimination" which excludes discrimination faced by general category students and does not prescribe any mechanism to penalise false complaints made by members of scheduled castes, tribes and other backward classes. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta appearing for the Centre informed the court that pursuant to the last order, the Centre is taking a relook at the regulations. "The 2026 Regulations are being reconsidered. Till this exercise is complete, the court may defer hearing on these petitions." The regulations came as a result of a petition filed in 2019 before the Supreme Court by parents of two students who died by suicide due to caste-based discrimination. The students - Rohit Vemula was a PhD scholar at Hyderabad Central University who died on January 17, 2016 while Payal Tadvi, a student at TN Topiwala National Medical College died on May 22, 2019....