Company asking last 6 months salary because I am leavng before 1 year full-time.

1 year ago

I joined the company as a trainee engineer straight out of college and in the trainee offer letter it was mentioned that

"If you are offered a permanent / part-time employment with the company, we would expect you not to resign for at least a minimum period of 1 year subject to the terms of your employment agreement / appointment letter. If you resign within the first year of your employment with the Company, you would be liable to pay the Company your last six months’ salary. You agree that this is reasonable as the Company will be investing significant time and resources for your training"

I spent 3 months in training in which I was getting a 40,000 stipend per month. Then I got FTE to offer on 26th Dec 2021.

but when I got the FTE offer letter, nothing about payback was mentioned. But now when I am leaving after spending 9 months with the company they are asking me to pay back the last 6-month salary which is 3.5Lakhs.

What legal laws can I use for my defense in this case