Two leading institutes offering coaching for UPSC exams have come under the Central Consumer Protection Authority’s (CCPA) scanner for misleading advertisements and false claims of credit for success of students in cracking the elite civil services examination.
The consumer affairs ministry said in a statement that the CCPA had imposed a penalty of ₹8 lakh each on Dikshant IAS and Abhimanu IAS for misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Action was taken after successful UPSC candidates complained that their names and photographs were used without consent in advertisements falsely claiming credit for their results, the ministry further said.
In the case of Dikshant IAS academy in New Delhi, the CCPA received a complaint from Mini Shukla (AIR 96, UPSC CSE 2021), who stated that her name and photograph were used in the institute’s promotional material without her consent. She said she had never been associated with Dikshant IAS, and had only attended a mock interview at Chahal Academy, which she later discovered was jointly organised with Dikshant IAS.
The institute claimed in its advertising that it had achieved “200+ Results in UPSC CSE 2021”, but did not disclose the specific courses taken by these students.
In claiming full credit for the success in all stages of examination of “200+ results in UPSC CSE 2021”, the institute deliberately concealed that the candidates’ association with the institute was limited only to the interview stage, CCPA said.
It could also produce only 116 enrolment forms against its claim of “200+ results”, and even failed to submit any agreement with Chahal Academy or provide evidence showing that students were informed of the joint nature of the programme.
“The advertisements deliberately concealed crucial details about the courses undertaken by successful candidates. This omission created a false impression that Dikshant IAS had contributed to their overall UPSC preparation, whereas their association was limited to the interview stage,” the CCPA said.
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In the case of Abhimanu IAS, another popular IAS coaching institute in the national capital, a representation from Natasha Goyal (AIR 175, UPSC CSE 2022) revealed that the institute had falsely claimed that she was its student and used her name and photograph without authorisation.
Her only association with the institute had involved the sharing of a question bank with her for a mock interview that was never conducted.
The CCPA found that Abhimanu IAS had published misleading claims such as “2200+ Selections since Inception”, “10+ Selections in IAS Top 10”, and “1st Rank in HCS/PCS/HAS”.
Upon investigation, it was found that of 139 claimed selections across various examinations in 2023, 88 students had cleared the Prelims and Mains stages without any assistance from Abhimanu IAS. The institute had merely provided mock interview programmes or personalised question banks to them.
Regarding the claim of “10+ Selections in IAS Top 10”, the CCPA found that most of these selections dated back to 2001-2012, with only two in 2018.
The omission of the phrase “since 1999” was held to be a material omission that misled consumers into believing that the institute had recent and frequent top-10 results.
The claim of “2200+ Selections since Inception” remained unsubstantiated as well, as the institute failed to produce any evidence. The advertisements did not specify which examinations these selections referred to, creating a false impression that all selections were from UPSC CSE.
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 confers upon consumers the right to be informed, which includes the right to receive truthful and accurate information enabling them to make rational choices.
So far, the CCPA has issued 57 notices to various coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices. Penalties amounting to over ₹98.6 lakh have been imposed on 27 of the institutes.
“Misleading advertisements undermine this right and adversely affect consumer interest, particularly in the field of education where aspirants invest significant time, effort, and financial resources,” the CCPA, headed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, said.
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