Penalty On Shortfall In Notice Period

My company has 2 months Notice period. But i am giving 20 days shortfall i.e 1 month 10 days notice period. Due to this the company is applying a penalty of 20% of annual salary plus the shortfall days.
Is this justified?

Hello gaurangarya,
Forget about what your Company is saying now.
What does your Appointment Letter say reg this aspect?
Pl reproduce 'verbatim' here & you would get more realistic answers/suggestions.
Also, pl confirm if there has been any earlier precedence of anyone else leaving on the same terms.
Rgds,
TS

Dear tajsateesh
the rule is that any employee who is drawing annual CTC of 4 lac and above or completed 5 years has to give notice period of 2 months. If there is shortfall then the penalty of 20% of annual CTC plus the salary of the no of days remaining. In my case am having ctc of 4 lac and above.
At the time of joining four years back, the contract had 1 month notice period.
No previous employee had this situation.

Hello gaurangarya,
Since the Rule Book mentions reg the 20% penalty, etc I am not sure if you have a choice.
I am assuming that you have given your acceptance while joining this company [basically Offer Acceptance].
Usually for many, all such aspects of an Appointment Letter are not given much thought of until things reach a critical stage like it did for you.
Maybe had you perused thru the Rule Book BEFORE you resigned, you might have factored this aspect into your plans.
Coming to your statement "At the time of joining four years back, the contract had 1 month notice period", a company can change the policies anytime. But they have to inform the employees about the changes--thru any commonly used means. However, even if the company didn't, it could be tough to prove.
Frankly, I guess you don't have any option than going by the rules now. Next time, pl go thru any Offer with a fine-comb before signing on the dotted-line.
All the Best.
Rgds,
TS