The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of ₹8,00,000 each on Dikshant IAS and Abhimanu IAS for publishing misleading advertisements and engaging in unfair trade practices, violating the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The orders were issued following complaints from successful UPSC candidates whose names and photographs were used in promotional materials without their consent, falsely claiming credit for their results.
In the case of Dikshant IAS, the CCPA received a complaint from Mini Shukla (AIR 96, UPSC CSE 2021), who stated that her details were misused in the institute’s advertisements claiming “200+ results in UPSC CSE 2021.” The Authority found that Dikshant IAS could provide evidence for only 116 students and had failed to disclose the joint nature of its Interview Guidance Programme with Chahal Academy, creating a false impression about its role in candidates’ success.
Similarly, Abhimanu IAS was found to have misused the name and photograph of Natasha Goyal (AIR 175, UPSC CSE 2022) in advertisements. The institute also made unsubstantiated claims such as “2200+ selections since inception,” “10+ selections in IAS Top 10,” and producing “1st Rank in HCS/PCS/HAS.” Investigations revealed that many of these claims were exaggerated, outdated, or unrelated to the courses provided.
The CCPA highlighted that misleading advertisements in the education sector deprive aspirants of their right to accurate information, potentially influencing their decisions unfairly. The Authority emphasized that consumers, in this case students, must be informed to make rational choices about coaching services.
So far, the CCPA has issued 57 notices to various coaching institutes for misleading practices and imposed penalties exceeding ₹98.6 lakh on 27 institutes, along with directions to discontinue such false claims.
The CCPA has urged students to report any misuse of their names or photographs in advertisements.