Many company HRs think that they have some supernatural powers and can do anything with an employee, especially with a departed employee. It is true that in order to facilitate a transfer, the previous company should mark the employee's exit from their records. If they do not mark an employee's exit, they are required to make contributions in respect of the departed employee. It is acceptable that there will not be any contribution to PF or PS since there is no wage payment for the period in question, but retaining an employee as a member even after their departure will be taken very seriously by the EPFO.
In this scenario, as an online transfer has been initiated and only approval by the previous employer is pending, it should be assumed that the previous employer has completed the exit process for the employee; otherwise, the transfer request cannot proceed. If the previous employer does not provide approval, you can submit another transfer request with approval from the current employer so that the funds can be transferred without the need for approval from the previous employer.