Advice on false claims by employer, employment bond and non-compete clause

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User_4e6b2bf9
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April 30, 2026 at 4:36 pm

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some legal guidance regarding my father’s situation.

My father (3 years away from retirement) was laid off after working 10+ years at his previous company. Due to financial pressure (EMIs, etc.), he joined Company A at a significantly lower salary. At the time of joining, they made him sign an 18-month bond with a ₹5 lakh penalty if he leaves early, a 3-month notice period, a clause restricting him from working with competitors and a clause about not disclosing company/client information. Other employees were not subjected to such strict terms, it seems they took advantage of his situation.

After 2 months, he received an offer from Company B (a competitor), offering ~50% higher salary. Given his situation, he decided to accept it. He clearly informed Company B that he would not use any confidential data or client contacts from Company A, and they were fine with it.

He resigned from Company A via email and requested to be relieved after serving 1 month of notice. However:
– The director verbally abused him and told him he was relieved the very next day
– Asked him to return company property (laptop), which he did. No written acknowledgment was given for the handover

Now HR from Company A has emailed stating:
– He cannot join a competitor
– He owes ₹5 lakh for bond breach + notice period (which director didn’t ask him to serve, instead told him to not work from the next day)
– He has not returned company property (which is false)
– They will not issue a relieving letter and may take legal action

Are such employment bonds legally enforceable in India? Can Company A realistically file a case against him, and how strong would it be?
What can we do to protect him legally at this stage?

The only leverage we seem to have in case they file a case is that they were deducting PF from his salary (as shown in payslips) but did not actually deposit it in his EPFO account.

Since they are falsely claiming he didn’t return company property, how should we respond? What kind of proof or steps can we take now to protect him from this allegation?

Any advice would really help!

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