Byju’s accused of putting misleading information in its UPSC curriculum, FIR filed against owner

The FIR was filed by the Aarey Colony police in Mumbai after receiving a complain from a company called Crimeophobia. The complainant alleges that India’s leading EdTech platform Byju’s has put misleading information in its curriculum for the UPSC exam.

The owner of Byju’s has been booked under IPC section 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) and section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act, in the case registered on July 30.

In the FIR, it is alleged that Byju’s UPSC curriculum contains mention of India’s premier investigation agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as nodal agency for the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).

Crimephobia has stated that CBI has confirmed in writing that the agency is not the UNTOC’s nodal agency, as per the police.

Snehil Dhall, founder of Crimeophobia reportedly stated, “I came across misquoting about UNTOC (India) implementation details in May on BYJU's UPSC curriculum, after which I approached them through an e-mail, asking them to make necessary changes. In their reply, they sent me a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) about the CBI being the nodal agency. However, it was dated 2012, hence I found it unsatisfactory and approached the police.”

Byju’s has denied the allegations and stated the highlighted material in its UPSC curriculum is factually correct. A spokesperson from the company has said, "We received a letter from Crimeophobia, claiming that the preparatory material published by us for UPSC examination in relation to the UNTOC is incorrect. But contrary to the allegations, the material is factually correct and backed by a publicly available official memorandum issued by the MHA on April 30, 2012, a copy of which was also shared with Crimeophobia in response to the letter.

All information utilised by Byju’s was verified, said the spokesperson. The company is reportedly reviewing the details of the FIR before taking necessary action, “We have obtained a copy of the FIR by making an application to the court. Our lawyers are reviewing the FIR's contents and we will take necessary steps as per legal advice.”