Consumer Commission Slaps Fine on Study IQ IAS for Bilingual Course Failure
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Noida has delivered a significant ruling against a prominent Gurugram-based educational institute. On Wednesday, the commission issued an ex-parte order directing Study IQ IAS to refund a course fee of Rs 15,000 with interest and pay additional compensation to a dissatisfied candidate.
Details of the Consumer Complaint
The case originated from a complaint filed by Pragyansh Singh, a resident of Sector 53, who purchased an online optional UPSC course from Study IQ IAS in July 2025. Singh paid Rs 15,000 for what was advertised as a comprehensive bilingual course featuring both Hindi and English video lectures and study materials.
"On the very first day of accessing the course materials, it became evident that all content was exclusively in English," stated Singh in his complaint. "This directly contradicted the bilingual promise made in their promotional advertisements."
Despite multiple attempts to resolve the issue through phone calls and emails, Study IQ IAS reportedly failed to provide any solution or alternative. The institute also refused to process a refund of the course fees, prompting Singh to approach the consumer commission for relief.
Commission's Investigation and Ruling
Commission Chairperson Anil Kumar Pundir and Member Anju Sharma conducted thorough proceedings after issuing notices to Study IQ IAS. When the educational provider failed to respond or participate in the hearings, the commission proceeded with ex-parte arguments on November 20, 2025.
After examining all available evidence and documentation, the commission reached a clear conclusion. "The advertisement explicitly promised bilingual services, but the delivered course contained only English materials," the commission noted in its ruling. "This caused significant inconvenience and rendered the course incomprehensible to the complainant, who had specifically sought bilingual instruction."
The commission determined that Study IQ IAS had committed a clear deficiency in service by failing to deliver what was promised in their advertising. This constituted both a breach of consumer trust and unfair trade practices under the Consumer Protection Act.
Financial Penalties and Compensation
The commission's order includes multiple financial components designed to provide comprehensive relief to the complainant:
- Refund of the full course fee of Rs 15,000
- Interest calculated at 6% per annum from the date of complaint filing
- Rs 500 compensation for litigation costs
- Rs 500 compensation for mental agony and inconvenience
- Total additional penalty of Rs 1,000 beyond the refund
Study IQ IAS has been directed to comply with this order within one month of the ruling. The commission emphasized that educational providers must deliver exactly what they advertise, particularly when candidates make purchasing decisions based on specific language requirements for competitive examinations like the UPSC.
This case serves as an important reminder to all educational service providers about their obligations under consumer protection laws. The ruling reinforces that misleading advertisements and failure to deliver promised services will result in significant financial penalties and damage to institutional reputation.
