Pune : CCPA Impose Fine On Pune Institute For Misleading Advertisement and Unfair Trade Practices
Pune 29th August 2023: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a fine of Rs 1 Lakh against a coaching institute from Pune Iqra IAS for publishing misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices. The institute had published on its website that the top rank holders of the UPSC CSE exams held in 2015 and 2017 were their students. However, the authorities found this claim misleading as none of these students had studied from there.
The enquiry also found that the institute had claimed to be the top UPSC coaching institute within a year in Pune with the best faculty from all across the country. The CCPA uncovered that the endorsements from the top performers of the UPSC Civil Service examination – Tina Dabi, who secured the All India Rank (AIR) 1, Athar Amir Ul Safi Khan with AIR 2, Himanshu Kaushik holding AIR 77 – all of whom successfully passed the 2015 exam – along with Saifin, who achieved AIR 570 in 2017, were displayed on the IQRA IAS Institute’s website. Notably, the institute was established in 2018. This situation led to a misleading perception among consumers that the mentioned institute was responsible for the achievements of these accomplished candidates.
“It is imperative to mention that 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. On the other hand, the IQRA IAS Institute nowhere showcased any disclaimer and failed to substantiate other claims made by them,”CCPA stated in its order.
The institute in its reply to CCPA has informed that the advertisement has been removed from its website.
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