{"id":1720,"date":"2026-04-13T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T23:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bharatlex-rinkutai.com\/?p=1720"},"modified":"2026-03-20T23:49:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T18:19:36","slug":"31-ugc-act-section-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bharatlex-rinkutai.com\/?p=1720","title":{"rendered":"31. UGC Act: Section 28"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"UGC<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

31.1 Bare Act Provision<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1<\/sup><\/em>[28. Laying of rules and regulations before Parliament.\u2014Every rule and every regulation made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session, or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or regulation or both Houses agree that the rule or regulation should not be made, the rule or regulation shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or regulation.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footnote From Bare Act<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Ins. by s. 8, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-10-1984).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

31.2 Explanation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As Regulations framed by the UGC are required to be laid before the Houses of the Parliament in terms of Section 28 of the Act and furthermore the Ministry of Human Resource Development being a Nodal Ministry of both UGC <\/a>and other Universities in this country, the Regulations having been made at its instance, cannot be said to be subservient to the provisions of the Act establishing any university. As per Section 28 the Rules and Regulations framed under the UGC Act are required to be laid before each House of Parliament and when both the Houses agree then the Rules and Regulations can be given effect with such modification as may be made by the Parliament.[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As per Sec. 28 of the UGC Act, the recommendations are required to be placed on the table of the Parliament, as such, the recommendations are binding upon the State Government and the State Government should comply with them.[2]<\/sup><\/a> The power of the Central Government to make Rules and the UGC to make Regulations by virtue of Section 25<\/a> and 26 of the UGC Act<\/a>, respectively, are followed by Section 28 which mandates that the Rules and the Regulations shall be laid before Parliament as soon as may be after it is made and in thirty days. A perusal of Section 28 makes it clear that a docile and perfunctory placement of the Rules and Regulations is not what is envisaged in the UGC Act and the same are mandatory in nature, empowering the Parliament to either modify it or annul them.[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

31.3 Critical Analysis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Procedural Delay: <\/strong>The Laying requirement is a primary source of administrative and legal lag in the implementation of educational standards<\/a>. The rule or regulation must be laid for a total period of thirty days while Parliament is in session. Given that Indian Parliament typically meets only thrice a year in Budget, Monsoon, and Winter sessions, a regulation passed in March might not complete its mandatory 30-day laying period until August or even December. The Act allows the 30 days to be spread across one or more sessions. This creates a state of legal suspense. For months, the status of a new regulation remains tentative, as it could technically be modified or annulled by Parliament at any point during this period. While the modification or annulment is without prejudice to things previously done, universities are often hesitant to invest funds or change curricula based on a new regulation until the 30-day Parliamentary window has safely passed, fearing a mid-way modification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constitutional Validity and Ultra Vires: <\/strong>Section 28 is the statutory anchor for Article 123 and Article 73 principles, ensuring that the Executive does not usurp the role of the Legislature. The section is constitutionally vital. It prevents the UGC from becoming a law unto itself. By allowing both Houses to agree on modifications or annulments, Section 28 preserves the separation of powers. Courts have held in various administrative law cases that if a statute requires a rule to be laid, and it is not laid, the rule may lose its legal force. In the context of the UGC (Promotion of Equity) Regulations, 2026<\/a>, the question of whether the regulation was properly laid before both Houses is often a key point of technical challenge in writ petitions.[4]<\/sup><\/a> If Parliament modifies a rule under Section 28, that modified form becomes the law. Any attempt by the UGC to ignore the Parliamentary modification and stick to its original draft would be a clear case of an ultra vires act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Room for Misinterpretation: <\/strong>The technical language of Section 28 leaves several gaps regarding the status of a rule during the laying period. \u201cAs soon as may be\u201d phrase is highly subjective. If the Government waits six months to lay a regulation, is it a violation? There is no strict penalty for delay in laying, which allows the Executive to bypass Parliamentary scrutiny for months while the regulation is already being enforced on the ground. This clause says that modification does not affect the validity of anything previously done. This is a minefield for misinterpretation<\/a>. If a student was denied a degree based on a regulation that Parliament later annuls, is that denial still valid because it was done previously? This creates significant litigation regarding the Vested Rights of students and faculty. The requirement for both Houses to agree on a modification is a high bar. In a bicameral system where different parties may control the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, a regulation may remain bad law simply because the two Houses cannot agree on how to fix it, even if both dislike the original draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colonial Era Policy and Irrelevance: <\/strong>Section 28 is a post-independence 1984 insertion, but it follows a British Parliamentary Procedure known as the Negative Resolution model. Under this colonial-derived model<\/a>, the Parliament is not required to approve every rule; they only intervene if they disapprove. This is often irrelevant in a modern, fast-paced educational environment. Most MPs do not have the time or technical expertise to scrutinize complex academic regulations, meaning Section 28 often becomes a paper tiger. In 2026, the 19th-century process of physical laying of papers on the table is archaic. Modern transparency should involve Digital Public Consultations before the regulation is finalized. Section 28 provides oversight after the fact, whereas modern regulatory theory suggests that Pre-Legislative Scrutiny is more relevant than Post-Laying Annulment. While Section 28 is necessary for accountability, the way it is currently used, where academic standards become subject to political debate in Parliament, can sometimes compromise the scientific and academic integrity of the Commission\u2019s work, a hangover from the era when the state sought to control every intellectual output.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> Kalyani Mathivanan vs K V Keyaraj And Ors [AIR 2015 SUPREME COURT 1875]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> Dr. B. S. Rajpurohit vs State & Ors, Rajasthan High Court \u2013 Jodhpur D.B.CIVIL SPECIAL APPEAL NO.92\/2011 and other connected matters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a> Students Federation Of India And Ors. vs Union Of India & Ors. [AIR 2019 DELHI 69]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/a> Interim Order in Mritunjay Tiwari v. University Grants Commission Dt. 29.01.2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/a> \u201cExpanding Quality Higher Education through States and State Public Universities\u201d, NITI Aayog, February 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n

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This creates significant litigation regarding the Vested Rights of students and faculty. 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