CCPA imposes penalty of Rs 3 lakh on Sriram’s IAS for misleading advertising

New Delhi [India], August 18 (ANI): The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs three lakh on Sriram’s IAS coaching institute for a misleading advertisement regarding the UPSC Civil Service Exam 2022.

According to an official release, 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 that contravenes the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Given the violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the CCPA, headed by Chief Commissioner, Nidhi Khare, and Commissioner, Anupam Mishra has issued an Order against Sriram’s IAS for misleading advertisement regarding the UPSC Civil Service Exam 2022.

“Coaching Institutes and online edtech platforms use pictures and names of some successful candidates to influence prospective aspirants (consumers), without disclosing the courses opted by such candidates & length of the course so attended,” the release said.

“Sriram’s IAS in its advertisement made the following claims- “200 plus selections in UPSC Civil Service Exam 2022” “We are India’s No.1 Prestigious UPSC/IAS Coaching Institute”. CCPA found out that it Sriram’s IAS advertised various types of courses but the information concerning the course opted by the advertised successful candidates in the abovementioned UPSC Civil Service exams results was deliberately concealed in the advertisement,” it added.

This has the effect of consumers falsely believing that all the successful candidates so claimed by the Institute had opted for the paid courses advertised by the Institute on its website.

“Section- 2(28) (iv) of the Consumer Protection Act talks about misleading advertisements about deliberately concealing important information. Information regarding the course opted by successful candidates is important for the consumers to know so that they can make informed choices while deciding which course and coaching institute to join,” the release said.

Sriram’s IAS in its response submitted the details of only 171 successful candidates against its claim of 200 plus selections in UPSC CSE 2022. Out of these 171 candidates, 102 were from the Free Interview Guidance Programme (IGP), 55 were from the Free Test Series, 9 were from the GS Classroom course and 5 candidates were from different States under the MoU signed between the State Government and the Institute to provide free coaching. This fact was not disclosed in their advertisement, thereby deceiving consumers.

It is a well-known fact that successful candidates of the Civil Services Examination have to clear all the 3 stages of the Exams. Viz., Prelims, Main Exams and Personality Test (PT). While the Prelims is a screening test, the marks obtained in both the Mains Exams and Personality Test are counted for getting finally selected. The total marks for Main Exams and PT are 1750 and 275 respectively. Thus the contribution of the Personality Test is 13.5 per cent in the total marks. The majority of candidates had already cleared the Preliminary and Mains examination by himself/herself, with no contribution from Sriram’s IAS.

“By concealing this important fact, such false & misleading advertisement creates a huge impact on those consumers who are UPSC aspirants without letting them know that Sriram’s IAS had offered guidance to only such successful candidates who had already cleared the Preliminary and Mains examination of UPSC examination. Thus, the advertisement has violated the consumer’s right to be informed to protect himself against unfair trade practices,” the release said.

The Chief Commissioner of CCPA emphasized that an advertisement shall contain truthful & honest representation of facts by disclosing important information in such a manner that they are clear, prominent and extremely hard to miss for consumers. She highlighted the importance of consumer rights and the obligation of advertisers to provide accurate information to consumers.