New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 2 Lakh on Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study for publishing misleading advertisements. It has directed the institute to discontinue publishing such advertisements with immediate effect.
In view of the violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the CCPA, headed by chief commissioner, Nidhi Khare, and commissioner, Anupam Mishra issued the order against Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study for misleading advertisement regarding UPSC Civil Service Exam 2023.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, "The decision was taken to protect and promote the rights of consumers as a class and ensure that no false or misleading advertisement is made of any goods or services which contravenes the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019."
Misleading advertisements
The CCPA has stated that in its advertisements, the Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study claimed there were '13 students in top 100', '28 students in top 200', and '39 students in top 300' in UPSC Civil Service Exam 2023. The institute used 'Shubhra Ranjan IAS' and 'Students of Shubhra Ranjan IAS' in its advertisements and letterheads, creating a deceptive impression that Mrs. Shubhra Ranjan is/was an IAS officer.
Also, the advertisements 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.
"This constitutes a misrepresentation and unfair trade practice under 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 Institute submitted that it was a clerical mistake, which is not tenable as the term Shubhra Ranjan IAS or @shubhraranjanias has been frequently used on its letterheads and in its advertisements. Institute utilised deceptive practices to create a perception of exceptional quality and success. An advertisement should be truthful and honest representation of facts by making disclosures in such a manner that they are clear, prominent and extremely hard to miss for viewers to notice," it read.
Deliberately concealed facts
"Shubhra Ranjan IAS Study prominently displayed successful candidate’s names and pictures and simultaneously advertised various types of courses provided by them on its official website. However, the information with respect to the course opted by the said successful candidates in UPSC Civil Service exam 2023 was not disclosed in the abovementioned advertisement," the release read.
"The institute offers nearly 50 courses but the investigation report states that most of the claimed successful students took 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 in order to get clear 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. By deliberately concealing information about the specific course opted by each of the successful candidates, Institute made it look like all the courses offered by it had the same success rate for the consumers, which was not right," it added.
The Section 2(28) (iv) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, defines misleading advertisements, including those “deliberately conceals important information”. Information regarding the specific course opted by successful candidates is important for the consumers to know so that they can make informed choice while deciding which course and coaching institute to join.
Thus, CCPA has directed the institute to discontinue the misleading advertisements with immediate effect and pay a penalty of Rs 2,00,000 for publishing misleading advertisements.
Rs 7 lakh penalty on Vajirao & Reddy Institute
Earlier on November 22, the CCPA imposed a penalty of Rs 7 lakh on Vajirao & Reddy Institute for advertising misleading claims regarding results of UPSC CSE 2022. Vajirao & Reddy Institute in its advertisement claimed “617 selections out of 933 in UPSC CSE 2022” and “We are ranked at 1st position among the list of top UPSC Coaching Institutes in India”. The CCPA found out that all the claimed 617 successful candidates were enrolled in the Interview Guidance Programme, provided “Free of Cost”. The CCPA had issued a similar order against Vajirao & Reddy Institute to discontinue the misleading advertisement with immediate effect.
20 institutes slapped Rs 68.6 lakh fines
The CCPA has so far issued 45 notices to various coaching institutes for misleading advertisements. The CCPA has imposed a penalty of Rs 63.6 lakhs on 20 coaching institutes and directed them to discontinue their misleading advertisements.
The Department of Consumer Affairs through the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has successfully intervened at a pre-litigation stage to ensure justice for students and aspirants who enrolled for the UPSC Civil Services, IIT and other entrance examinations. Following numerous complaints registered in the National Consumer Helpline regarding unfair practices by various coaching centers especially not refunding the enrolment fees of the students/ aspirants, NCH initiated a drive to resolve these grievances on a mission-mode to facilitate a total refund of Rs 1.15 crore to 432 affected students (between September 1, 2023 and August 31, 2024). All these refunds were processed promptly at a pre-litigation stage after the intervention of the department to the affected students from across the country, who raised their grievances on NCH.
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