When Unacademy refused to refund a dissatisfied JEE student, a Raipur father took them to court. Now the coaching giant has to pay up.
RAIPUR, April 4 — Shees Haider wanted a simple demo class before handing over his money. Unacademy demanded cash upfront. That power play just cost the coaching giant ₹1.72 lakh, plus interest, and handed parents a legal roadmap to fight back.
The dispute started on March 28, 2025. Haider walked into Unacademy’s Raipur center to enroll his son for Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) preparation. He asked the staff for a trial period. The institute drew a hard line, refusing to let the student sit in a classroom until the fees cleared the bank.
Haider took out a loan to cover the ₹1.74 lakh cost. He paid the money under a specific guarantee from the institute: if his son wasn’t satisfied after a one-month trial, they would refund the entire amount.
But three weeks into the program, the reality didn’t match the sales pitch. The student felt the classes weren’t working for him. Haider pulled his son out and asked Unacademy to honor their word and return the money.
Unacademy flatly refused.
How many parents just walk away when the corporate machinery says no? Most of them. They swallow the financial hit and keep paying the loan.
Haider didn’t walk away. He took Unacademy straight to the local consumer commission.
The court looked at the transaction, the timeline, and the institute’s refusal to return the funds. The bench didn’t mince words. They ruled the coaching center’s actions constituted a clear deficiency in service.
The final order hit the institute’s bottom line. The commission allowed Unacademy to retain just ₹2,000 for administrative costs. They ordered the company to refund the remaining ₹1.72 lakh.
And they didn’t stop at the principal amount. The court mandated a 6 percent interest rate on the refund. They tacked on an additional ₹5,000 penalty to compensate the family for the mental harassment they endured fighting for their own money.
This ruling hits at a crucial time for the lucrative coaching industry. Institutes routinely trap parents with aggressive sales tactics and ironclad non-refundable clauses.
The legal landscape is shifting. The consumer commission now operates with e-filing and e-hearing capabilities. This digital upgrade has stripped away the friction of traditional lawsuits. People file claims over ₹5 carry bags with the same ease as ₹5 crore corporate disputes. The bureaucratic shield companies rely on is cracking.
Haider’s win proves the house doesn’t always win. Thousands of parents trapped by heavy coaching fees just got proof that the courts will force these companies to pay up.
