CCPA slaps Rs 11 lakh penalty on Vision IAS for misleading ads, first case of repeat offence

New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 11 lakh on coaching institute Vision IAS for publishing misleading advertisements related to the results of the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022 and 2023, the first case in which a higher penalty has been levied for a repeat offence under consumer protection laws.

The institute, registered as AjayVision Education Pvt Ltd, had claimed "7 in Top 10 & 79 in Top 100 selections in CSE 2023" and "39 in Top 50 selections in CSE 2022" in advertisements on its official website, prominently featuring the names, photographs and ranks of successful candidates.

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Following an investigation, the CCPA found that Vision IAS deliberately concealed information about the specific courses taken by most of the featured candidates, creating a misleading impression that all of them were enrolled in its high-fee foundation courses.

While the institute disclosed that Shubham Kumar (AIR 1, UPSC CSE 2020) was a classroom student of its GS Foundation Batch, it failed to provide similar disclosures for other successful candidates displayed alongside him. According to the CCPA, this selective disclosure misled aspirants into believing the foundation course was responsible for the candidates' success.

The Authority found that of the more than 119 candidates claimed by Vision IAS as successful in UPSC CSE 2022 and 2023, only three had enrolled in foundation courses. The remaining candidates had availed services such as preliminary and mains test series, one-time Abhyaas tests and mock interview programmes.

"This is the first case of penalty on the second offence," CCPA Chief Commissioner and Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare told PTI. She said that despite regulatory intervention and caution, the institute continued to make similar claims in subsequent advertisements, reflecting a lack of due diligence and regulatory compliance.

The CCPA noted that the institute's website-based advertisements, unlike print media, remained accessible globally for extended periods and served as a primary research source for aspirants in the digital era, amplifying the impact of misleading claims.

The Authority said such deliberate concealment of material information amounted to a misleading advertisement under Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, as it induced students and parents to enrol in expensive programmes based on false or inflated claims. Projecting students' success without proper authorisation or consent further compounded the violation, it added.

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"In highly competitive examinations like the UPSC Civil Services Examination, where lakhs of aspirants invest significant time, effort and financial resources, selective and incomplete disclosures create false expectations about outcomes and the effectiveness of coaching services," the CCPA said in a statement.

So far, the CCPA has issued 57 notices to coaching institutes for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices. Penalties totalling Rs 1.09 crore have been imposed on 28 institutes, along with directions to discontinue such claims.