New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has passed final orders against Motion Education Pvt. Ltd., imposing a penalty of Rs 10 lakh, and against Career Line Coaching (CLC), Sikar, imposing a penalty of ₹5 lakh, for indulging in misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, and violation of consumer rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The decision was taken to protect and promote the rights of consumers as a class and to ensure that no false or misleading advertisement is made in respect of any goods or services in contravention of the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, said Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution in a release.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), headed by Chief Commissioner, Smt. Nidhi Khare, and Commissioner, Shri Anupam Mishra, passed the Orders against Motion Education Pvt. Ltd. and Career Line Coaching (CLC), Sikar after observing that the coaching institutes made tall claims and prominently used the names, photographs, and achievements of successful candidates in IIT-JEE and NEET examinations while concealing important information regarding the specific courses opted by such candidates.
CCPA took Suo motu cognizance of misleading advertisements published by the Institute on its official website, YouTube channel, Instagram account, and newspaper advertisements. CCPA observed that the institute prominently displayed the names and photographs of successful candidates while simultaneously advertising its paid programmes such as “Full Time Classroom Programme”, “Residential Programme”, “Nurture Batch”, “Enthuse Batch”, and “Dropper/Leader Batch”, without disclosing the actual courses undertaken by the successful candidates.
Investigation conducted by the Director General (Investigation) revealed that a majority of the students featured in the advertisements were enrolled in “I-Eklavya (Online)” courses. CCPA observed that “I-Eklavya” course is a premier rankers’ batch for JEE and NEET aspirants, offered in both online and offline formats, and provided free of cost to selected students through a test and interview process. However, the advertisements failed to disclose this important information i.e. course opted by successful candidates.
It was further found that the institute had also used the names and photographs of certain students who enrolled with the institute after the examination had already been conducted, thereby falsely attributing their success to the institute for promotional purposes. The investigation further observed that names and photographs of students were used without obtaining proper consent from the students or their parents/guardians.
CCPA found that the institute failed to substantiate several claims made in the advertisements despite repeated opportunities and directions to furnish documentary evidence. The Authority held that concealment of important information regarding the nature of the courses undertaken by successful candidates amounted to a misleading advertisement under Section 2(28) and an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
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