By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, DEC 23, 2024: THE Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 2 lakh for misleading advertisement on Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study. The decision was taken to protect & promote the rights of consumers as a class and ensure that no false or misleading advertisement is made of any goods or services which contravenes the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

In view of the violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the CCPA, headed by Chief Commissioner, Nidhi Khare, and Commissioner, Anupam Mishra has issued an Order against Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study for misleading advertisement regarding UPSC Civil Service Exam 2023.

Coaching Institutes and online edtech platforms use pictures and names of successful candidates to influence prospective aspirants (consumers), without disclosing the courses opted by such candidates or the fees paid by them & length of the course so attended.

Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study in its advertisement made the following claims-

Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study prominently displayed successful candidate's names & pictures and simultaneously advertised various types of courses provided by them on its official website. However, the information with respect to the course opted by the said successful candidates in UPSC Civil Service exam 2023 was not disclosed in the abovementioned advertisement.

The CCPA found out that the claimed successful candidates were enrolled in following courses:-

The institute offers nearly 50+ courses. However, the DG Investigation report found that most of the claimed successful students took Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) crash course & test series which comes into play after clearing Preliminary examination. It is the right of the consumer to be informed about the specific course that successful candidates had taken from the coaching institute to make it into the final selection of CSE. For the potential consumers, this information would have contributed in their making an informed choice about the course to opt for their success at CSE.

By deliberately concealing information about the specific course opted by each of the successful candidates, Institute made it look like all the courses offered by it had the same success rate for the consumers, which was not right.

Section 2(28) (iv) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, defines misleading advertisements, including those that involve the "deliberately conceals important information". Information regarding the specific course opted by successful candidates is important for the consumers to know so that they can make informed choice while deciding which course and coaching institute to join.

Institute used terms such as "Shubhra Ranjan IAS" and "Students of Shubhra Ranjan IAS" in its advertisements and letterheads, creating a deceptive impression that Shubhra Ranjan is/was an IAS officer. This constitutes a misrepresentation and unfair trade practice under Consumer Protection Act 2019, thereby misleading the public and potential students into believing that the services or guidance provided by them are directly associated with the credibility of an IAS officer. The Institute submitted that it was a clerical mistake, which is not tenable as the term Shubhra Ranjan IAS or @shubhraranjanias has been frequently used on its letterheads and in its advertisements. Institute utilized deceptive practices to create a perception of exceptional quality and success. An advertisement should be truthful & honest representation of facts by making disclosures in such a manner that they are clear, prominent and extremely hard to miss for viewers to notice.

In view of the above, CCPA directed the Institute to discontinue the misleading advertisements with immediate effect and pay a penalty of Rs 2,00,000 for publishing misleading advertisements.

On 22.11.2024, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) imposed a penalty of Rs 7 Lakh on Vajirao & Reddy Institute for advertising misleading claims regarding results of UPSC CSE 2022. Vajirao & Reddy Institute in its advertisement claimed "617 selections out of 933 in UPSC CSE 2022" and "We are ranked at 1st position among the list of top UPSC Coaching Institutes in India". The CCPA found out that all the claimed 617 successful candidates were enrolled in the Interview Guidance Programme, provided "Free of Cost". The CCPA issued an Order against Vajirao & Reddy Institute to discontinue the misleading advertisement with immediate effect.

CCPA had taken action against misleading advertisements by coaching institutes. In this regard, CCPA has so far issued 45 notices to various coaching institutes for misleading advertisements. The CCPA has imposed a penalty of 63 lakhs 60 thousands on 20 coaching institutes and directed them to discontinue the misleading advertisements.

The Department of Consumer Affairs through the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has successfully intervened at a pre-litigation stage to ensure justice for students and aspirants who enrolled for the UPSC Civil Services, IIT and other entrance examinations. Following numerous complaints registered in the National Consumer Helpline regarding unfair practices by various coaching centers especially not refunding the enrolment fees of the students/ aspirants, NCH initiated a drive to resolve these grievances on a mission-mode to facilitate a total refund of Rs 1.15 cr. to 432 affected students (during 1st Sep'23 ~ 31st Aug'24). All these refunds were processed promptly at a pre-litigation stage after the intervention of the department to the affected students from all corners of the country who raised their grievances on NCH.