PF not released
After my B. Tech I joined a company called Prodapt Solutions, Chennai, in 2009. While working there, I attempted CAT and in 2011, got admission into IIM Lucknow in the last list. Because of selection in last list, I had only a week to join. This meant I would not be able to serve the notice period which was changed from 2 months to 3 months in that very month. When I told HR that I would have to leave in 3 days, he said that I will have to pay for not serving the notice period, an amount of Rs. 90,000 (3*30,000 - Thirty thousand was monthly in-hand). I was due Rs. 1,00,000 from the company in the form of bonus and salary. So they released me. Later, when I was in college, they sent a mail asking me to clear dues of Rs. 22,000. They have used CTC to compute the notice period buyout while I expected it to be based on in-hand component. The matter diluted at that time as I was busy with my curriculum. In the middle of all this, they did not release my PF. Post my studies, in 2013, I went personally to the office in Chennai and asked for the release of PF money. I was asked to pay the 22,000 due and the HR promised me to release PF immediately. He said that it is company policy to calculate notice period buyout based on CTC. I accepted that and, with lot of difficulty, arranged the amount immediately as I was not willing to travel from Warangal to Chennai again for this. It has been almost 2 years since that happened and till today my PF is not released. Several follow-up mails did not help. In this regard, I am seeking help on two things. 1) How can I get my PF and is it possible to penalize the company for the mental torture and delay in achieving this. I think interest of 4 yrs makes sense. 2) Is it appropriate to extract money from an employee who is heading for higher studies? If yes, can it be 3 months CTC? Else, can I ask them to pay it back?