1. If the three months' notice period to leave company is mentioned in the offer letter, then it has to be for both the employee and employer. Employer can't say that the buyout option is not available for the employee. In that case, the HR and CEO can't decide unilaterally to their advantage by forcing the employee to serve the full notice period of three months.

2.  If you serve for only two months, the employer can't stop you from receiving relieving letter. However if the company has provided you specialised training by spending huge amount and/or sent you abroad for specialised training at it's cost, then the company will be at advantage.

3.  If three months' notice period is mentioned in the offer letter, then buyout option should have been there in the offer letter also. In such a case, the employer will not have right/can't force the employee to serve full notice period of three months.

Terms of contract are sacrosanct 

2) if terms of contract mention 3 months notice period better serve the notice period 

3) if you don’t serve notice period company will not give you a relieving letter 

4) it is at discretion of company to waive notice period and accept salary in lieu of notice period 

Dear Client,

In the Present Scenario, you are working in an IT-Start-up Company, which has specified a notice period of 3 months. But you can serve only for 2 months due to certain constraints. However, the HR and the CEO of the current company are not ready to grant the same, and are also not ready for a buyout option. While you are ready for the Buyout option and pay for the same, they have declined it and told you to serve for a full notice period. But, however, you cannot serve for more than 2 months. With respect to your first query, as to whether they have the right to force you to serve the full notice period of 3 months, as the employment contract stipulates that there is a notice period of 3 months, the company generally has the right to enforce the same upon you. Unless there is an explicit clause stating for the early termination or buyout, the employer may force you to serve the full notice period. With regard to the second query, as to whether, if you serve only 2 months, then will they have the right to stop your reliving letter, although having one and a half years of experience in your current company, yes, there exists a possibility of the same as you have not served the complete notice period. For the third query, according to the Indian Contract Act, 1872, if you fail to fulfil the notice period as stipulated, the employer may have the right to seek damages from you. Henceforth, it is suggested that negotiation sessions may be entered into between you and your employer, to solve the issues and discuss other options.

Hope you find this answer beneficial for resolving the dispute.

In your resignation letter you can clearly mention the details and send it to them. 

The employer cannot force you to serve the full notice period if you are willing to compensate for the remaining notice period. 

Your employer cannot refuse to issue relieving letter,  if he does then you can resort to legal action on this. 

They are right by the terms of employment offer letter to force you to serve full notice period 

- As per Specific Relief Act, if any employee quits before the notice period, the Employer can only recover the Notice pay, and the Company cannot force to serve the entire notice period.

- Further, the resignation decision is the employee’s decision, and the employer cannot sue for breach of contract, if the employee leaves without serving contractual notice. 

- Except, recovery of the said amount, company cannot harm you for the same

- Further, no employer can refused to return the original certificates or to issue relieving letter .If they are doing so, their act is illegal, unjustified and against the fundamental rights of the employee.

- Further, the employment bond with the negative covenant is valid and legally enforceable, if the parties agree with their free consent i.e. without force, coercion, undue influence, misrepresentation and mistake, but it is not enforceable, if it is either one sided, unconscionable or unreasonable.

a) The company has no right to force you to serve the notice period of 3 months

b) No, they cannot refuse to issue relieving letter

c) Illegal 

a) Yes, it is entirely within the employer's rights to insist that you serve the notice period in full, instead of accepting your payout offer, legally speaking.

b) Yes, they may delay or not issue the relieving letter at all.

c) Yes, see my response to Q a).

A. Legally, as per the agreement yes! That is because you have agreed to serve them for 3 months during the notice period.

B. They can, but then you can take legal recourse against them 

C. I will say, it is their ‘discretion’