Worried About Legal Trouble for Skipping Notice Period? Need Advice on Next Steps

Hi Team, I need a suggestion, please help me. I joined a small company (with 6 years of experience in an MNC). Due to some reasons, I had to abscond from it exactly after 29 days (weekends/holidays included). In the offer letter, it is mentioned that if I had to terminate, I either need to serve the notice period or pay in lieu (3 months notice period). After a month, I received an email from HR intimating that the full and final settlement is done (they didn't give me the salary for those 29 days, nor am I interested in the salary) and need to pay a huge amount for not serving the notice period. I ignored the email and after two days received a reminder email. Now I'm worried. If I ignore that too, will there be any legal action? How can I protect myself as I cannot pay such a huge amount, and I'm not expecting a relieving letter or experience letter from the absconded company? I joined another company (with a two-month overall gap, including the absconded company's). With my previous company's experience, will there be any problem with this new company's employment? Please guide.

Understanding Contractual Obligations and Legal Implications

If the contract states certain obligations, it is binding on you. You must fulfill the contract, or else the company can initiate a civil suit against you under the Indian Contract Act. Your new employment will remain unaffected as this will be a civil suit. However, if you receive a notice from the legal team of your previous organization, you may have to pay.

In case you have a remission letter, which is a letter relieving you of the contract or employment, then the company has no right to pursue you. An email to that effect holds the same validity.

Thank you for the response, but I'm not in a position to repay the amount they are asking for (it's huge for me). I was in a situation where I couldn't serve the notice period. As I left within a month, is there any way I could be relieved? During my 29 days of tenure there, for about 10 days, I was not even allocated a workstation, nor were any external trainings given. I mean to say that because of my desertion, there is no loss to the project or organization, and I wasn't paid for the days I worked. How noble is it for them to demand such a huge amount for the in lieu payment?