Government imposes Rs 500,000 fine on Shankar IAS Academy for misleading advertisement

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued an order against Shankar IAS Academy for misleading advertisement regarding the UPSC civil services exam 2022.

The authority has imposed a fine of Rs 500,000 for misleading advertisements.

The decision was taken to protect and promote the rights of consumers as a group and to ensure that there is no false or misleading advertisement of goods or services that violate the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the government statement released on Sunday said.

Shankar IAS Academy claimed in its advertisement that out of 933 candidates at All India Level, 336 were selected for the UPSC Civil Service exam 2022, of which 40 were in the Top 100.

The school also claims to be the best IAS academy in India. It has graduated 42 candidates from Tamil Nadu, of which 37 have studied at Shankar IAS academy.

The CCPA found that Shankar IAS Academy advertised various types of courses but the information regarding the course opted by the advertised successful candidates in the above-mentioned UPSC Civil Service examination results was deliberately concealed in the advertisement.

Shankar IAS Academy in its response has submitted the details of only 333 successful candidates while the Academy claimed that more than 336 candidates were selected for UPSC CSE 2022.

Out of 336 registered students, 221 participated in the free interview coaching programme, 71 participated in the Mains test series, 35 participated in the Prelims test series, 12 participated in the General Studies Prelims cum Mains, 4 participated in the Prelims test series with another main course (optional and/or GS).

Under the CCPA, this fact was not disclosed in the advertisement, thereby misleading consumers.

Further, the CCPA found that in 18 cases where candidates purchased a provisional course from Shankar IAS Academy, the course start date on the voucher was mentioned as October 9, 2022, but the preliminary exams of the 2022 UPSC CSE exam were already conducted on June 5, 2022 and the result was declared on June 22, 2022. This can only mean that these candidates purchased a provisional course for the next UPSC CSE preliminary exam, i.e. in 2023.

Shankar IAS has included these candidates in their total selection list for UPSC CSE 2022.

Nidhi Khare, Chief Commissioner of CCPA, stated that according to news reports, more than 10 lakh candidates appear for the UPSC Civil Services Examination every year. The advertisement by Shankar IAS Academy was targeted at a consumer group, namely UPSC aspirants.

The action was taken under Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act of 2019, which empowers the CCPA to ensure that no false or misleading advertising is made in relation to goods or services in violation of the provisions of this Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder.