Facing Legal Threats Years After Leaving a Job: What Should My Brother-in-Law Do?

Legal Concerns After Employment Termination

My brother-in-law, who is currently unemployed and involved in politics and public service, is facing a curious problem. He joined a company as an auditor and quit after two months. He was relieved after completing due processes such as:

1. No dues certificate from the Accounts team
2. No dues clearance from his department head
3. Asset handover and confirmation of his release date by the Head of the department
4. Security and other exit formalities duly signed off
5. Resignation acceptance and relieving letter from his HR manager.

Suddenly, after six years, he received a call from a lawyer claiming he owes the company a specific amount and needs to repay it with interest, or face legal consequences. He tried to explain his situation, but they only repeated threats of legal action and avoided his specific questions. He contacted his previous manager, who was completely surprised. The manager recommended handing over all his documents so they could investigate what triggered this case of mistaken identity.

Queries Regarding Legal Actions

1. Does he really need to hand over his letters to the manager?
2. Should he instead consider suing the employer for damages? If so, how much can he claim as compensation?
3. As he is currently unemployed and facing dire financial issues, can he sue the company for reinstatement to his previous position?

Regards,
Anajayana

Hi,

Thank you for the kind reply. Generally, what would be the time limit for making such a claim in India for either of the parties?

Understanding the Lawyer's Notice

It's good to note that your brother-in-law has kept records of the clearance forms from all the departments. Sending a notice directly from the lawyer appears to be a politically motivated action. Why has the employer not sent the notice on their own? Why jump directly to the lawyer's notice? Secondly, has the lawyer's notice provided a breakdown of the outstanding dues against him? What are the causes of these dues? Have these dues arisen because of acts of omission or commission?

If the dues have arisen because he failed to execute his duties, then the company should have been thoughtful all these years. They should have ordered a domestic inquiry and told him to appear before the inquiry officer. Why have they not done that?

Lastly, let me reiterate that the lawyer's notice could be some political opponent's ploy to harass your brother-in-law. Let him find out who is using his ex-employer's influence.

In reply to the notice, let your brother-in-law respond. Encourage him to send photocopies of the records of the clearance that he has diligently maintained. They could ignore his reply and may file a suit against him. In that case, let him fight the case. Your brother-in-law must be a foot soldier of some political boss. Let his boss hire a lawyer for him. This is the boss's noblesse oblige to his follower!

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Thank you for the kind reply. The notice from the advocate does not specifically state the reason for recovery; it just mentions recovery with respect to "notice period + PF + etc." It is quite vague, and there is no audit report from any accounts team.

His political mentor, who is an advocate, mentioned that it has become quite unfortunate nowadays as some unscrupulous professionals engage in vague threats to achieve their goals. He has promised to help in case there is any legal action and also provide political support.

My family is concerned as my brother-in-law is not earning. I want to see if he can be removed from politics (as he is not earning much to support the family) using this notice to send him back to his previous job.

Thank you.

Clarification on Legal Notice and PF Dues

In your original query, you mentioned "gets a call from a lawyer," and now you are referring to a notice. I am curious if the notice describes PF dues, which are deducted by the employer when paying the employee's salary.

Therefore, I don't believe you have clearly presented the facts based on either the call or the notice, which you should confirm with your brother-in-law first. Regardless, if only calls have been received, receiving calls holds no significance. You should request them to send a formal notice detailing the nature of the dues or demands.

Dear ML Student,

In your original query, you mentioned receiving a call from a lawyer, but now you are referring to a notice. I am curious if the notice pertains to PF dues, which are deducted by the employer from the employee's salary.

Therefore, I believe it is essential to verify whether you have provided accurate information based on either the call or the notice, which you should confirm with your brother-in-law first. Simply receiving a call without context may not be relevant, as I mentioned in my previous post.