New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed penalties of ₹8 lakh each on Dikshant IAS and Abhimanu IAS for issuing misleading advertisements, engaging in unfair trade practices, and violating consumer rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The order, issued by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra, aims to safeguard aspirants from false claims and deceptive marketing in the coaching industry.
The authority acted on complaints from successful UPSC candidates whose names and photographs were used without their consent. In one case, Mini Shukla (AIR 96, UPSC CSE 2021) informed the CCPA that Dikshant IAS had used her name and picture in promotional material, despite her never being a student there. She clarified that she had attended only a mock interview at another academy, which was later found to have been jointly conducted with Dikshant IAS.
Dikshant IAS had advertised “200+ Results in UPSC CSE 2021,” but the CCPA found no credible evidence to support the claim. The institute could only produce 116 enrolment forms and failed to submit any valid agreement with its alleged partner, Chahal Academy. The authority concluded that Dikshant IAS had deliberately concealed crucial details and misled aspirants into believing that the institute was responsible for the overall success of those featured in its promotions.
In a similar case, UPSC topper Natasha Goyal (AIR 175, UPSC CSE 2022) filed a complaint against Abhimanu IAS for falsely claiming her as its student and using her photograph without permission. The CCPA investigation revealed that she had only been provided with a question bank for a mock interview that was never conducted. Despite this, the institute included her name and image in advertisements.
Abhimanu IAS had also published exaggerated claims such as “2200+ Selections since Inception,” “10+ Selections in IAS Top 10,” and “1st Rank in HCS/PCS/HAS.” The investigation found that most of these claims dated back to 2001–2012, with only two top-10 results in 2018, and even those students had only attended interview guidance sessions. The CCPA determined that the institute failed to provide any documentary proof to substantiate these claims and that its advertisements intentionally omitted key information about the specific nature of courses attended by successful candidates.
The authority stated that these misleading practices violated Sections 2(28) and 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, as they created a false impression about the institutes’ success and influenced students’ decisions unfairly. It emphasized that the right to be informed is fundamental under the Act, and deceptive advertisements undermine that right, particularly in education, where students make life-changing choices based on trust and transparency.
The CCPA has so far issued 57 notices to various coaching institutes across the country for publishing false or exaggerated claims and imposed penalties amounting to over ₹98.6 lakh on 27 of them. The authority has also urged candidates to immediately report any unauthorized use of their names or photographs by coaching centers, assuring strict action against such violations.
