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

New Delhi, Dec 25 (IANS) The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has fined coaching institute Vision IAS Rs 11 lakh for publishing misleading advertisements related to the performance of its students in the UPSC Civil Services Examination, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said on Thursday.

This is the first time a penalty has been imposed for a repeat offence under consumer protection laws.

In its order, the CCPA said Vision IAS, which is officially registered as AjayVision Education Private Limited, deliberately misled aspirants by exaggerating its role in the success of UPSC toppers.

The authority found that the institute concealed crucial information about the actual courses taken by successful candidates, creating the impression that all toppers had enrolled in its expensive foundation courses that cost several lakhs of rupees.

Vision IAS had claimed in its advertisements that it produced “7 in Top 10 and 79 in Top 100 selections in CSE 2023” and “39 in Top 50 selections in CSE 2022.”

These ads prominently displayed the photographs, names and ranks of successful candidates, giving the impression that the institute was directly responsible for their success.

However, the CCPA’s investigation revealed a different picture. Of the more than 119 candidates claimed by Vision IAS as successful in UPSC CSE 2022 and 2023, only three had actually enrolled in the institute’s foundation courses.

The remaining 116 candidates had only used limited services such as preliminary and mains test series, one-time Abhyaas tests, or mock interview programmes.

The authority noted that while Vision IAS clearly mentioned that Shubham Kumar, who secured AIR 1 in UPSC CSE 2020, was a classroom student of its GS Foundation Batch, it deliberately failed to disclose similar details for other candidates featured in the same advertisements.

This selective disclosure, the CCPA said, created a false and misleading impression that all featured candidates had taken the same premium course.

Taking note of the repeated nature of the violation, the CCPA said the case was treated as a subsequent offence, which justified a higher penalty in order to protect consumers.

The authority added that such practices mislead aspirants and parents into believing that the institute played a key role in a candidate’s success at every stage of the examination.

The CCPA held that this amounted to a misleading advertisement under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

So far, the authority has issued 57 notices to coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices.

It has imposed penalties of Rs 1.09 crore on 28 institutes and directed them to stop making such misleading claims.

–IANS

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