CCPA imposes Rs 1 lakh fine on IQRA IAS Institute for misleading testimonials of IAS toppers

New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh against IQRA IAS Institute for misleading advertisement related to testimonials of top rank holders in the UPSC civil service exam and has directed to withdraw false claims from its website immediately.

The CCPA, headed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, had issued an order against IQRA IAS Institute for misleading advertisement and unfair trade practice by advertising misleading testimonials of top rank holders of the years 2015 and 2017 in the UPSC Civil Services Exam, an official statement said.

The issue came to the notice of CCPA through the website of IQRA IAS Institute. The authority found that the institute deliberately and falsely claimed through the testimonials of top rank holders of UPSC CSE in 2015 & 2017 as their students which is factually deceiving. The institute was established in 2018.

"Therefore, CCPA took suo-moto cognizance and found that along with the aforesaid false claim the institute claimed itself as the only coaching academy to have the best faculty from all around India for providing the best UPSC online prelims test series 2020, thus making it the top UPSC coaching within a year in Pune," the statement said.

The authority had issued a notice to the institute and also ordered an investigation into this matter. Based on the investigation report, it has ordered a fine.

"CCPA is working to safeguard the rights of a class of consumers in every nook and corner of the country and therefore issued an Order to IQRA IAS Institute to discontinue the false claims under the garb of misleading testimonials as well as imposed the penalty of Rs 1,00,000 for misleading advertisement and unfair trade practice," the statement said.

Accordingly, CCPA issued a notice to IQRA IAS Institute.

CCPA, which is entrusted to protect, promote, and enforce the rights of a class of consumers, asked DG (Investigation) CCPA for a detailed investigation in this case.

It was found in the investigation report that the testimonials of All India Rank holders Tina Dabi AIR-1 (2015), Athar Amir Ul Safi Khan AIR-2 (2015), Himanshu Kaushik AIR-77 (2015), Saifin AIR-570 (2017) were hosted by IQRA IAS Institute, which itself was set up in 2018, thereby deceiving consumers into believing that such successful candidates owe their success to the said institution.

"IQRA IAS Institute by making such exaggerated claims not only falsely represented its service by deliberately concealing important information but also conveyed express and implied representation to mislead the class of consumers for deceptively promoting their services," the statement said.

IQRA IAS Institute nowhere showcased any disclaimer and failed to substantiate other claims made by them, it added.

The CCPA noted that an advertisement is considered to be valid and not deceitful when it does not mislead consumers by exaggerating the usefulness of the products or services.

Disclosure in the advertisement should not hide the material information and be hard to miss with respect to any claim made, the omission or absence of which is likely to make the advertisement deceptive or conceal its commercial intent.

The department has already issued the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022, and has notified a framework on Online Consumer Reviews to curb fake, deceptive, and misleading reviews for safeguarding and protecting consumer interest in November 2022.