CCPA slaps penalties on two coaching institutes in Rajasthan for misleading advertisements

New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed penalties of Rs 10 lakh on Motion Education Pvt Ltd and Rs 5 lakh on Career Line Coaching (CLC), Sikar in Rajasthan for publishing misleading advertisements regarding JEE and NEET results.

The regulator found that both institutes concealed crucial information about the courses attended by the students whose success stories were prominently featured in their promotional campaigns, violating the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

In orders passed by CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, the institutes were held guilty of unfair trade practices and infringement of consumer rights, a statement from the CCPA said.

Motion Education had aggressively advertised a 91.2 per cent NEET qualification rate and a 51.02 per cent IIT-JEE Advanced pass rate. The institute prominently displayed names, photographs, and ranks of successful candidates across its website, YouTube channel, Instagram, and newspaper ads while promoting its paid programmes, including the Full Time Classroom Programme, Residential Programme, Nurture Batch, Enthuse Batch, and Dropper/Leader Batch.

However, an investigation revealed that a majority of the featured students had actually enrolled in the "I-Eklavya (Online)" course, which is offered free of cost to selected students after a test and interview. This critical detail was not disclosed in any of the advertisements. Some students were also enrolled only after their exams, and their results were still attributed to the institute’s coaching.

The institute had also used students’ names and photographs without obtaining consent. In the case of Career Line Coaching (CLC), the institute claimed “1650+ CLCians in MBBS, IIT & Others.” It initially described the figure as cumulative selections since 1996 in written submissions, but later claimed during the hearing that it referred only to 2024.

The CCPA found the claim unsubstantiated due to these contradictions. Several featured students had enrolled only for test series courses, a fact not disclosed in the advertisements, the statement said.

The CCPA ruled that failing to specify whether successful candidates attended full-time classroom programmes, online courses, crash courses, or merely test series amounts to misleading advertisements under Section 2(28) and unfair trade practices under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Both institutes have been directed to immediately withdraw the offending advertisements and ensure full disclosure in all future promotional material. They have since appealed the orders before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).

This action is part of a broader crackdown by the CCPA on coaching institutes. The authority has so far issued more than 60 notices and imposed penalties exceeding Rs 1.39 crore on 31 institutes offering coaching for UPSC, IIT-JEE, NEET, RBI, and other competitive examinations, the statement added.