The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of ₹11 lakh on Vision IAS (Ajayvision Education Private Limited) for publishing misleading advertisements related to the results of the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022 and 2023, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said on Wednesday.
The penalty was imposed for violations of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, after the coaching institute was found to have published deceptive claims on its official website regarding the number of successful candidates in the UPSC examinations.
According to the CCPA, Vision IAS advertised claims such as “7 selections in the top 10 and 79 in the top 100 in CSE 2023” and “39 selections in the top 50 in CSE 2022,” prominently displaying the names, photographs, and ranks of successful candidates.
During the investigation, the authority found that while the institute disclosed the specific course opted for by Shubham Kumar, who secured the first rank in UPSC CSE 2020, it deliberately withheld information about the courses taken by other successful candidates whose names and photographs appeared on the same webpage. This omission created a misleading impression that all the candidates had enrolled in the GS Foundation Classroom Course, which was not the case.
The investigation further revealed that although Vision IAS claimed over 119 successful candidates in UPSC CSE 2022 and 2023, only three candidates had enrolled in the institute’s foundation course. The remaining 116 candidates had opted for services such as test series, practice tests, or mock interview programmes.
The CCPA noted that by selectively disclosing information and simultaneously promoting its high-fee foundation course, the institute misled students and parents into believing that Vision IAS was solely responsible for candidates’ success across all stages of the examination. Such practices were found to constitute misleading advertisements under Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The authority also observed that the institute displayed successful candidates’ names and photographs on its website without obtaining proper consent, further misleading prospective students. It noted that unlike print media, websites are globally accessible and remain available for longer durations, making them a primary source of information for aspirants in the digital era.
