CCPA fines Vision IAS Rs 11 lakh for misleading UPSC result advertisement

The CCPA (Central Consumer Protection Authority) has imposed a penalty of Rs 11 lakh on coaching institute Vision IAS for publishing misleading advertisements related to its students’ performance in the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) Civil Services Examination, marking the first instance of a penalty for a repeat offence under consumer protection laws.

The CCPA found that Vision IAS, registered as AjayVision Education Pvt Ltd, deliberately concealed material information about the actual courses attended by successful candidates, thereby creating the impression that top rankers had enrolled in its high-cost foundation programmes.

“This is the first case of penalty on the second offence,” Nidhi Khare, Chief Commissioner of the CCPA and Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, told PTI. She said that despite earlier regulatory intervention and caution, the institute continued to make similar claims in subsequent advertisements, indicating a lack of due diligence and compliance.

The authority examined advertisements in which Vision IAS claimed “7 in Top 10 and 79 in Top 100 selections in CSE 2023” and “39 in Top 50 selections in CSE 2022”, prominently featuring photographs, names and ranks of successful candidates.

However, the CCPA’s investigation revealed that of more than 119 successful candidates cited by the institute for UPSC CSE 2022 and 2023, only three had enrolled in its foundation courses. The remaining candidates had availed limited services such as prelims and mains test series, one-time Abhyaas tests, or mock interview programmes.

The authority noted that while the institute disclosed that Shubham Kumar (AIR 1, UPSC CSE 2020) was a classroom student of its GS Foundation Batch, it concealed similar details about other candidates displayed alongside him.

This, the CCPA said, falsely suggested that all featured candidates had undergone the same premium coaching.

“In view of the recurring nature of the violation, the present instance was treated as a subsequent contravention, warranting the imposition of a higher penalty,” the CCPA said in a statement.

The authority held that the selective disclosure amounted to a misleading advertisement under Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, as it misled aspirants and parents into believing that the institute was responsible for candidates’ success at all stages of the examination.

The CCPA also pointed out that unlike print advertisements, websites remain accessible globally for long periods and are a primary source of information for aspirants researching coaching institutes. It said projecting success claims without proper authorisation or consent from students further compounded the violation.

“In highly competitive examinations such as the UPSC Civil Services Examination, where lakhs of aspirants invest significant time, effort and money, incomplete and selective disclosures create false expectations regarding outcomes and the effectiveness of coaching services,” the authority said.

So far, the CCPA has issued 57 notices to coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices, imposing penalties of Rs 1.09 crore on 28 institutes, along with directions to discontinue such claims. The authority said all coaching institutes must ensure truthful and transparent disclosures to enable students to make informed academic choices.

With PTI inputs