Wrongly Terminated and Labeled Absconding: How Can I Get My Relieving Letter?

I am writing this email to bring to your attention that I have been caught up in a very unfortunate incident in my personal life for the past 10 months.

There was a legal case filed against me, which required me to go into judicial custody immediately. Consequently, I was unable to inform the organization about my unavailability as expected.

I have been cleared of the legal case and have come out of it completely clean. However, my organization has labeled me as absconding and proceeded with terminating my employment without providing me with the relieving letter, despite my requests.

Currently, I am not in a financial position to pay the aforementioned amount.

What should I do? Can someone help me?

"I am currently not in the financial position to pay the foresaid amount." What is this for? The company had terminated you from the service, right? Then why should you pay anything to the company? Is it by way of any notice pay? Notice pay applies when the employee puts in resignation and wants to get relieved immediately. It does not apply to termination or dismissal on the grounds of misconduct, i.e., continuous absence from work without intimation.

Now, coming to the practical side of the issue, I would say that by getting a relieving order which might say, "since you have been absconding it is construed that you are not interested in the employment with us and therefore, you are relieved from service with effect from.../with immediate effect," will not add any value to your personal or career growth. Then why should you go against it? Denying a relieving order for want of a few months' notice pay is really unfortunate. But you cannot demand a relieving order that shall not contain any negative remarks about your service or something which may cause you stigma. It is true that you were found innocent and the court has acquitted you. But the charge in the service records is not a criminal charge or judicial custody but just absenting without notice. That is maintainable also. Certainly, you can pursue whether they have followed the principles of natural justice or not and see if the procedures were followed. If they have not followed the procedures required to be followed before dismissing an employee from service, then you can even demand reinstatement.

There are judgments to the effect that absence caused due to incarceration (being put in jail) does not amount to voluntary absence, and there cannot be a presumption of voluntary abandonment of service. As stated by the learned Madhu Sir, you have enough grounds to challenge the termination of service. Please explore them.