The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), the watchdog organisation that comes under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, announced on Sunday that it imposed a Rs 2 lakh penalty against an IAS exam coaching centre for allegedly misleading consumers with an advertisement related to the results to UPSC Civil Service Examination (UPSC CSE) 2023.
Delhi-based Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study was accused in the official statement by the consumer affairs ministry for claiming the following in its advertisement: “13 students in top 100”, “28 students in top 200”, and “39 students in Top 300” in the UPSC CSE 2023. “The advertisements prominently depicted photographs and names of the successful candidates of the UPSC Civil Service Exam 2023, without mentioning any information about the specific course opted by such candidates,” read the notice.
The CCPA found that out of the claimed students enrolled in the courses, 26 students were in the political science and international relations (PSIR) crash course and test series, 10 students for the essay programme for mains, two each in the rapid revision (polity, governance, and international relations) and PSIR with classroom courses, five in the PSIR course, eight in the PSIR answer writing module, and two students in the sociology offline batch.
“By deliberately concealing information about the specific course opted by each of the successful candidates, [the] institute made it look like all the courses offered by it had the same success rate for the consumers, which was not right,” the ministry doubled down.
“The institute offers nearly 50+ courses. However, the DG Investigation report found that most of the claimed successful students took [the] ‘political science and international relations (PSIR) crash course and test series’, which comes into play after clearing [the] 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,” authorities further explained.
The ministry also further stressed that the institute used the terms “Shubhra Ranjan IAS” and “students of Shubhra Ranjan IAS” in its advertisements and letterheads, which allegedly created a “deceptive impression that Mrs Shubhra Ranjan is/was an IAS officer.”
“This constitutes a misrepresentation and unfair trade practice under [the] 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 consumer affairs ministry stated.
CCPA dismisses ‘clerical error’ claim
The institute conveyed to the consumer rights body that it was a clerical mistake, but the body struck it down with the CCPA directing it to discontinue the advertisements and the Rs 2 lakh penalty.
Last month, the CCPA also slapped a fine amounting to Rs 7 lakh on Vajirao and Reddy Institute for allegedly publishing misleading claims in its advertisements regarding the results of UPSC CSE 2022. In the “617 selections out of 933 in UPSC CSE 2022” claim, the CCPA said it found that all 617 candidates were enrolled in their “free of cost” interview guidance programme.
The Department of Consumer Affairs, in the period between September 2023 and August 2024, initiated action facilitating the refund of Rs 1.15 crore to 432 affected students who reached out through the National Consumer Helpline (NCH). “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,” stated the ministry.