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Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday thanked the Supreme Court for putting a stay on the new UGC regulations and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has never discriminated against anyone. Speaking with ANI, Giriraj Singh said, “I thank everyone, including the country’s Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. I thank the court for the decision it has passed. Prime Minister Modi has never discriminated against anyone in the country. It was Prime Minister Modi who gave reservations to EWS. People like us live only for the people of our country.”BJP RS MP Manan Kumar Mishra also welcomed SC’s decision and assured that the government would resolve the “lacks” in the resolution. “The court’s interference seemed valid with some of the lacks in the Bill. Now the government and the UGC will get a chance. Our Education Minister had already said that there will be no discrimination against anyone… The government will now resolve the lacks,” he said. Sunil Dahiya, president of Vipra Foundation, said, “We respect the Supreme Court’s decision, and the Supreme Court always protects the Constitution. Our opposition is to government policies, including the government’s discriminatory and anti-caste policies. This has been going on for 80 years, against our children. For 80 years, the government has discriminated against us. They have made us criminals. We are not going to stop. We have understood that this country is being destroyed on the basis of caste. We will not let that happen.”Amid an uproar around the country over the alleged “discrimination” against the General Category in the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, the SC on Thursday stayed the regulations.The Top Court said that, for now, the 2012 UGC regulations will continue to apply. The Court opined that there is complete vagueness in Regulation 3 (C) (which defines caste-based discrimination), and it can be misused. “The language needs to be re-modified,” the Court said.The Court noted that this raises an unexamined concern: if a Group A Scheduled Caste individual makes discriminatory or derogatory remarks against a Group B Scheduled Caste individual, has this aspect been adequately addressed under the 2026 framework?After 75 years of trying to make a caste-less society, whether the direction of policy-making is progressive or tending towards a regressive approach, it asked.The new regulations, introduced to curb caste-based discrimination in colleges and universities, require institutions to establish special committees and helplines to address complaints from students in the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backwards Classes (OBC) categories.Students, mostly from the general category, protested against regulations that promote discrimination on campuses rather than equality. The students noted that the regulation has no provision to address fraudulent complaints filed against General Category students

Founders Federal Credit Union, the largest credit union in South Carolina, has named a new president two months after the company parted ways with its incoming president.

The company named Evan Mathis as its new president, Founders announced in a press release Tuesday. Mathis will take over as president effective immediately, the release said. Bruce Brumfield, whose retirement had been announced by the company in January of last year, is set to stay with the company as its chief executive officer.

The credit union, based in Lancaster, S.C., had initially named Keith Wilson, a 25-year veteran of the company, as its incoming president after Brumfield announced his pending retirement. But in November, the credit union’s board reversed course and cut ties with Wilson.

“After careful consideration and discussion with our Board, we know Evan is the right person to assume this role and maintain the momentum of the steady growth and strategic goals we have worked hard to achieve,” Brumfield said in the release.

Mathis joined Founders, which boasts some 50 locations across the Carolinas, in 2019, according to the release and had been serving as its chief financial officer.

Founders Federal Credit Union is the state’s largest credit union, boasting some $4.7 billion in assets and 860 employees serving 273,817 members in North and South Carolina, according to the company’s annual report from 2024.

It’s unclear why the board changed direction on the hiring of Wilson. When reached by a reporter with The State in November, two board members — former University of South Carolina Athletic Director Ray Tanner and State Sen. Allen Blackmon — declined to comment.

“We appreciate [Wilson’s] contributions and wish him well,” the company’s spokesperson Nicki Nash said in an emailed statement to The State in November

Brumfield, the sitting CEO, has held the credit union’s top position for the last two decades and has worked for Founders for nearly four decades. He took over as CEO when Laura Fleming, who led the company for more than four decades, retired in 2002. An attempt to reach Brumfield was unsuccessful.

Founders Federal Credit Union began in 1950 under the name The Founders Difference, according to the company’s website, when a group of mill employees decided to start the credit union.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday orally observed that trade union leaders are largely responsible for stopping industrial growth in the country, and all traditional industries in the country, all because these 'jhanda' unions have been closed.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya said it cannot issue a writ asking the Centre and states to consider amending existing laws.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran appeared for the petitioner organisation. Raju also relied on a Supreme Court judgment dated January 29, 2025, where the court had highlighted the plight of domestic workers and noted repeated but unsuccessful legislative attempts to enact a comprehensive law.

Raju said that while some states have notified minimum wages for domestic workers, others have failed to do so, despite the nature of domestic employment remaining uniform across the country

During the hearing, the bench observed that when a minimum wage is enforced, these unions will ensure that every household is dragged into litigation. Raju said in Singapore, you cannot hire a domestic maid unless you register that person and provide weekly offs, wages, etc.

“Sometimes in our anxiety about reforms. In our anxiety to bring a non-discriminatory perspective through legislative means, it leads unwittingly to further exploitation. You fix a minimum wage. Look at the need for employment in this country….demand is far less as compared to the supply….you fix minimum wages, people will refuse to hire and this will further generate hardship”, observed the CJI.

Raju said these are workers’ unions, these are domestic workers’ unions registered under the Trade Union Act.

The CJI said, “How many industries in this country have been closed, thanks to these trade unions? Let us know the reality also”. He added that all traditional industries in this country have been closed because of these jhanda unions, and “they do not want to work, these are all trade union leaders. They are largely responsible for stopping the industrialization growth in this country”.

The CJI said, of course, the exploitation is there undoubtedly, but the means should have been different to stop that exploitation. “People should have been made aware of their individual rights. People should have been made skilled instead of using them as manual labour…”, observed the CJI.

Raju said let us not generalize and talk of larger issues, because collective bargaining is a valuable right.

Responding to the submission regarding collective bargaining, which the petitioners contended could address these concerns, Justice Bagchi noted that domestic workers are already covered under existing welfare frameworks.

“It is not as if there is no safety net. The Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act does take care of several aspects,” he said, while acknowledging that the petitioner’s concerns were “well taken.”

The bench, while acknowledging the “plight” of millions of domestic help across the country, maintained that the judiciary cannot encroach upon the legislative domain to mandate the enactment of laws. The bench also red-flagged the role of employment agencies in the exploitation of workers.

After hearing detailed submissions, the bench refused to entertain a PIL seeking a comprehensive legal framework and enforcement of minimum wages for domestic workers.

The bench, in its order, said, “No enforceable decree or order can be passed unless the legislature is asked to enact a suitable law. Such a direction we are afraid ought not to be issued by this court.”

The bench asked petitioners, including Penn Thozhilalargal Sangam, a domestic workers’ union, to highlight the plight of domestic help to states and the Union to take a suitable decision in the matter.

“We observe that petitioners may continue to highlight the plight of domestic helps and impress upon the stakeholders to take a final call in relation thereto.. and the correspondence shows it is under active consideration by states and we are hopeful that a suitable mechanism shall be deployed for their help and to prevent exploitation,” the bench said while disposing of the PIL.

The petition sought, among other reliefs, recognition of non-payment of minimum wages to domestic workers as a violation of fundamental rights and enforcement of minimum wage regimes across States.

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New Delhi: Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to stay its order accepting a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges, and said the government stands committed to its protection and restoration. The apex court kept in abeyance the directions in its November 20 verdict that had accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges recommended by a committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC). It also proposed to constitute a high-powered committee comprising domain experts to undertake an exhaustive and holistic examination of the issue.

"I welcome the Supreme Court directions introducing a stay on its order concerning the Aravalli range, and the formation of a new committee to study issues. We stand committed to extending all assistance sought from MOEFCC in the protection and restoration of the Aravalli range," Yadav said in a post on X.

"As things stand, a complete ban on mining stays with regard to new mining leases or renewal of old mining leases," he added.

The top court on November 20 accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges and banned the grant of fresh mining leases inside its areas spanning Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat until experts' reports are out.

The apex court had accepted the recommendations of a committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the definition of the Aravalli hills and ranges to protect the world's oldest mountain system.

The committee had recommended that "Aravalli Hill" be defined as any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief, and an "Aravalli Range" will be a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Tamil Nadu government to hold a joint consultation with the Centre on the issue of establishing Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in the state, observing ‘we are a federal society’.

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan said the state government should not adopt an adversarial attitude and there must be a federal discussion.

The top court directed the authorities to ascertain the extent of land required for establishing JNVs in each district of Tamil Nadu.

"You come one step, they will also come one step. They may come two steps.

"After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu has gotten all the glory. It is the largest industrialised state in South India," the bench said.

It asked the Tamil Nadu government not to take it as an imposition, saying it is an opportunity for the state's students.

"You can say this is our language policy. They will look into it,” the court said.

It told the Tamil Nadu government that the Centre would also not discredit the state's policy.

"Bring to the notice of the secretaries of the central government about your act and how you are going about it. Please have a positive attitude," the bench said.

The apex court said it had passed the directions in the interest of students who are entitled to be admitted to JNVs in Tamil Nadu.

During the hearing, senior advocate P Wilson, appearing for Tamil Nadu, submitted that the JNVs follow a three-language formula, whereas the state government has a statutory two-language policy.

He said the Tamil Nadu government would have to provide around 30 acres of land in each district and bear related costs.

Justice Nagarathna observed that the issue should not be turned into a language dispute.

"Don't make it into a language issue. We are a federal society. You are part of the Republic. If you come one step forward, they will also come one step forward," she said.

The top court was hearing an appeal against the Madras High Court order filed by the state government.

The high court had directed the state to permit the establishment of JNVs after taking note of the written submission made by the Centre and the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, saying there was no imposition of Hindi in the regional schools.

The state government, in its reply, had stated that under the Tamil Nadu Tamil Learning Act, 2006, it followed a two-language system of having Tamil and English as the medium of instruction.