Upes Dehradun is not a bad option if you want to enroll in some specific domain branches 31 B.Tech courses , 10 BBA specialized courses , 8 MBA specialized courses, Legal Studies , Bachelor of Designing , Master of Designing and other courses offered by this university.
If you are looking for a good private university in North India then Thapar University and Upes Dehradun is the only option from my opinion.
Placements are the main factor for deciding which university is good. Both the university is offering good placements for its Graduates.
If you want to pursuing your career in Engineering and opt core branches like (Electrical , Mechanical) etc. then Thapar University is best among these two Universities.
But if you want some unknown and most demanding courses like B.Tech Fire and Safety , B.Tech Automotive Engg. then surely go for upes.
After all , We know very well Upes is known for their Industry demanding specialized courses.