Company not supporting in exit formalities

Context for this answer:

I don't condone lying and I'm a strong proponent of "keep your contract or don't sign it". However in India the common employment practices create contracts that are highly unethical and designed to create an indentured, almost slave-like work force. This may create situation where breaking the contract (and fully accepting the consequences) is the only reasonable choice for an employee.

which included a 2.5-year bond and a 2.5 lakh penalty if I left early.

Unfortunately these horrible bonds are still common in India, but they are mostly just a scare tactic. They have been declared unenforceable by Section 27 of the Indian Contract Law. Technically the company can sue you for damages if you break your notice period early but it's highly unlikely that they will.

I discussed it with my manager and submitted my resignation,

What did your manager say ? Do you have a record of that conversation?

citing medical reasons.

That was a huge mistake. Lying never helps and your situation has now become a lot worse.

The new company has asked for my resignation acceptance or relieving letter

Chances are your old company will not be giving you a relieving letter (many Indian companies refuse, in order to create leverage over the employee). Your best bet is to be honest with a new employer: let them know that you are on a 2.5 year bond, that the bond is not enforceable and that you are planning on breaking it. Hence you will not be able to provide a relieving letter but you will be willing to provide other proof of employment.

Sadly, this type of situation is rather common in India. Your best shot here is to find a local labor expert who can help you understand the options and the potential consequences. You should have done that before resigning.

The bond your current company had written is not valid in court of law (in India. I had seen this happen).

• What will happen if you stop coming to office from tomorrow? Nothing. Nothing legally. At most HR will call you to return laptop. At most you will not get experience letter.

• Prove to the new company that you are indeed a full time employee (by payslips/ PF website entries). Tell the new company that you cant get experience letter and if its ok. Generally companies dont mind joining you with out experience letters.

HTH

I am first going to answer this philosophically:

If you have a Society that says "Well everyone else is doing it, so I may as well do it" - it ends badly.

We can talk at length about Indian Labour Laws and cultural practices etc. We can debate the efficacy of them and whether or not they are just.

But you, The Individual have a choice to make. Which is whether or not you want to stoop to that level or if you want to hold yourself accountable to a higher standard.

I believe that Society, as a whole, is better when you do the latter. It might suck in the short-term - but lying and cheating to get out of a contract will come back to bite you - I shouldn't need to raise the notion of Karma to an Indian. Whereas if you do the right thing, eventually that will be recognized and rewarded.

Right, now for the practical answer

Firstly - I want to say that this piggy-backs off of Hilmar's excellent answer. But the one thing missing was why I decided to post. I was curious about these employment Bonds and did some reading and it seems that the Indian Courts have held that unless the Employer did something that had a monetary value (that they expected to recoup during an employment period) they are Not enforceable.

This is why I asked in the comments about training or certificates.

This type of 'Bond' is not uncommon elsewhere - in NZ, for example, if my Employer puts me on a particularly expensive training course, they can ask that I sign a contract, to agree to work for X number of years (typically 2) otherwise I may have to pay back a pro-rated amount for whatever the training course was.

For example - a colleuge went to a Saltstack training course that was I think around $5K NZD - they signed a contract to work for the company for 2 years. They left after 1.5 years (ironically because the company wasn't implementing Saltstack) - and had to pay the company back ~$1,250 (a quarter of the fee).

This is reasonable.

And it seems the Indian Courts agree - absent any financial input specific to the employee, these employment Bonds are not enforceable.

However - I would recommend discuss this with an Indian Employment Lawyer to get confirmation on the above.

The workplace advice is stop lying to your employers. If you sign a contract, keep to it. If you don't like the contract, don't sign it in the first place.

To summarize your case: You lied to do something financially beneficial for you. That is commonly called fraud. It is illegal. You need a lawyer. Like yesterday. Go get one. Is it costly? Maybe. You should have thought about that before trying to cheat your current employer.

Consequences.

Having shown no respect for your employer after they've offered a 'secure' full time position (with conditions) that you've voluntarily accepted (even though you say there's little-to-no work to do), you show no respect for others who truly must use an exit hatch labelled "Medical Condition".

Sorry to be 'quaint' but: You reap what you sow.

An alternative is to seek a meeting with your boss and HR where you lay your cards on the table... honestly. It's possible they may quickly end the meeting telling you to "Get out and never come back." Your reputation will be shot. Self-inficted wound. It's not hard to imagine that this other company may become aware of this incident in all its glorious detail. Could be that you've burnt a bridge before taking your first step onto it.

There are countless "moral tales" or "maxims" or "adages" surrounding this behaviour. One that comes to mind is, "Cheaters seldom prosper." Learn from this experience.