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Govt to soon introduce Rohith Vemula Act: CM
Karnataka's CM Siddaramaiah announced the Rohith Vemula Act to prevent caste-based discrimination in higher education, alongside plans for student union polls
The Karnataka government will soon introduce its proposed law aimed at preventing caste-based discrimination in higher education institutions, chief minister Siddaramaiah announced on Friday while presenting the State Budget.
The proposed legislation, to be called the Rohith Vemula Act, will apply to government, private and deemed universities across the state.
However, the government has not yet released details on how the law will be implemented.
“The Rohith Vemula Act will be enacted to prevent atrocities on caste lines on students across all government, private, and deemed universities in the state,” Siddaramaiah said during his budget speech.
The announcement comes at a time when regulations aimed at addressing discrimination in higher education at the national level have been stalled.
The amended equity regulations framed by the University Grants Commission — designed to address discrimination based on caste, gender and disability in universities — were recently put on hold by the Union government after the Supreme Court of India said the rules were “vague and capable of misuse.”
The proposed law is named after Rohith Vemula, a doctoral scholar at the University of Hyderabad who died by suicide on January 17, 2016.
During a Cabinet meeting on February 26, ministers approved the draft bill but decided to seek additional inputs.
State home minister G. Parameshwara recommended that the draft be sent to the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement for suggestions.
In a separate announcement during the budget speech, Siddaramaiah said the government would reintroduce student union elections in colleges and universities across the state.
“Student union elections will be conducted in colleges and universities to foster leadership, responsibility, and democratic values among students,” he said.
It remains unclear whether the requirement will extend to private colleges.
The Congress government had begun exploring the idea of reviving student elections last year and, in December 2025, constituted a panel of experts to study the feasibility of introducing them.
Before the panel was formed, Congress leader and member of the state legislative council, Saleem Ahmed had indicated that the government planned to start the process in state-run institutions before expanding it further.
