Coaching centre slapped Rs 11 lakh fine over misleading UPSC ads

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has fined VisionIAS Rs 11 lakh for publishing misleading advertisements about UPSC Civil Services Exam results. The institute claimed high success rates, but investigations revealed that only three candidates were enrolled in its foundation courses, while most had opted for test series or mock interviews.

Hyderabad: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has recently imposed a staggering Rs 11 lakh penalty on VisionIAS, a Delhi-based coaching institute that has centres across the country, including in Hyderabad, for publishing misleading advertisements on its official website concerning the UPSC Civil Services Exams 2022 and 2023 results.

The institute had advertised claims such as “7 in top 10 and 79 in top 100 selections in CSE 2023” and “39 in top 50 selections in CSE 2022”, prominently featuring the names, photographs and ranks of successful candidates, a PIB press release said.

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The CCPA, which took up the case suo-moto, found that the institute disclosed the specific course opted by Shubham Kumar (AIR 1, UPSC CSE 2020) namely, GS Foundation Batch (classroom student), it deliberately concealed information regarding the courses chosen by other successful candidates whose names and photographs were displayed alongside him on the same webpage, it said.

After a detailed investigation, the CCPA found that the institute claimed over 119 successful candidates in UPSC CSE 2022 and 2023. However, only three candidates had enrolled in foundation courses, while the remaining 116 candidates had opted for services such as test series for preliminary and mains examinations, Abhyaas tests (one-time tests), and mock interview programmes, it said.

“This deliberate concealment of material information misled aspirants and parents into believing that VisionIAS was responsible for the candidates’ success across all stages of the UPSC Civil Services Examination, thereby constituting a misleading advertisement under Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, it said.

The CCPA also noted that VisionIAS had earlier been proceeded against for publishing misleading advertisements. Despite regulatory intervention and caution, the institute continued to make similar claims in its subsequent advertisements, demonstrating a lack of due diligence and regulatory compliance, it added.