The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed penalty of 3 lakh rupees on Sriram’s IAS for publishing false and misleading advertising regarding the result of UPSC Civil Service Exam 2022. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said that 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.  In view of 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 to discontinue misleading advertisement with immediate effect. 

 

The CCPA found that out of the over 200 selections claimed by the coaching Institute, only 171 candidates were selected and the majority of these candidates had already cleared the Preliminary and Mains examinations on their own, with no contribution from Sriram’s IAS. This fact was not disclosed in coaching institute’s advertisement, thereby deceiving consumers. 

 

The Ministry said that such false and misleading advertisement had huge impact on UPSC aspirants, as they were not informed that Sriram’s IAS had offered guidance only to candidates who had already cleared the Preliminary and Mains examinations of the UPSC. The Ministry noted that the advertisement violated the consumers’ right to be informed and protected against unfair trade practices.