I have a brief discussion on my current situation in the below thread:
https://www.citehr.com/578898-sl-fam...ce-period.html
I am not sure whether I can discuss the same case in another topic because I have a very specific question related to labor law with regards to tampering of evidence.
<b>Little Background</b>
I am Arun and working as a principal developer for a small startup company (20-30 headcount with Director in London and only HR here).
I joined on 19th Sept-16 on probation for 6 months, and on 12th Jan-17, I filed my resignation citing mine and a serious series of illnesses in my family, and I needed to take a break. The resignation had been accepted by the management, and it was also mentioned in the email that they would like to take me back when my issues are solved.
I was serving the notice period from 12th Jan till 25th Jan-17 when my mother suffered a heart attack along with a severe case of H1N1. I verbally informed HR and the team and left on 25th Jan-17. I emailed about the situation and my date of return (13th Feb-17) on 1st Feb-17.
I didn't get any response from HR or the director (to whom I directly report) until 8th Feb. On 8th Feb, the director forwarded 3 emails (one each for disciplinary warnings, absconding from work, bad performance, and as a direct relation to huge loss to the company) to my personal email id (because that morning I had complained that the official account was locked by the IT administrator). It was mentioned that these emails were sent to my official id on 2nd Feb-17, and I had not responded back.
What's suspicious is that I have my official account (Gmail for Business) set up on my mobile, updated until 3rd Feb-17, and I couldn't find any such emails sent by the management. Also, 2 of the emails (originally sent to my official id) forwarded to my personal id don't have a "From" address, date, and 'Forwarded Message' as a header. This can only be done if the original message is being edited before forwarding it to the recipient.
I have been asking permission for my official account, but no response for a week.
My series of questions related to law here are:
- What if the management had indeed tampered with the email to make it look like it was sent earlier when it was actually sent on a later date (say 6th or 8th Feb-17)?
- If proven against the management, can all the accusations against me become void and null?
- Also, till date, my HR claimed that since I was on probation, I am eligible only for 1.5 days of sick leave for every 3 months, and nothing about sick leave had been mentioned in the offer letter. Is it the norm, or am I eligible for more sick leave?
From India, Chennai
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https://www.citehr.com/578898-sl-fam...ce-period.html
I am not sure whether I can discuss the same case in another topic because I have a very specific question related to labor law with regards to tampering of evidence.
<b>Little Background</b>
I am Arun and working as a principal developer for a small startup company (20-30 headcount with Director in London and only HR here).
I joined on 19th Sept-16 on probation for 6 months, and on 12th Jan-17, I filed my resignation citing mine and a serious series of illnesses in my family, and I needed to take a break. The resignation had been accepted by the management, and it was also mentioned in the email that they would like to take me back when my issues are solved.
I was serving the notice period from 12th Jan till 25th Jan-17 when my mother suffered a heart attack along with a severe case of H1N1. I verbally informed HR and the team and left on 25th Jan-17. I emailed about the situation and my date of return (13th Feb-17) on 1st Feb-17.
I didn't get any response from HR or the director (to whom I directly report) until 8th Feb. On 8th Feb, the director forwarded 3 emails (one each for disciplinary warnings, absconding from work, bad performance, and as a direct relation to huge loss to the company) to my personal email id (because that morning I had complained that the official account was locked by the IT administrator). It was mentioned that these emails were sent to my official id on 2nd Feb-17, and I had not responded back.
What's suspicious is that I have my official account (Gmail for Business) set up on my mobile, updated until 3rd Feb-17, and I couldn't find any such emails sent by the management. Also, 2 of the emails (originally sent to my official id) forwarded to my personal id don't have a "From" address, date, and 'Forwarded Message' as a header. This can only be done if the original message is being edited before forwarding it to the recipient.
I have been asking permission for my official account, but no response for a week.
My series of questions related to law here are:
- What if the management had indeed tampered with the email to make it look like it was sent earlier when it was actually sent on a later date (say 6th or 8th Feb-17)?
- If proven against the management, can all the accusations against me become void and null?
- Also, till date, my HR claimed that since I was on probation, I am eligible only for 1.5 days of sick leave for every 3 months, and nothing about sick leave had been mentioned in the offer letter. Is it the norm, or am I eligible for more sick leave?
From India, Chennai
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Tampering with E-mails:
If you can prove this allegation, this is a serious offense. Under the Information Technology Act, when a person tampers with any electronic record to commit a crime (such as the employer committing Criminal Breach of Trust or Cheating, depending on whether there is any indemnity value in the lapse of the notice period), severe punishment is applicable. Therefore, contact an advocate and file a case under section 420, 468 of the IPC along with relevant provisions of the IT Act. Additionally, section 120B of the IPC may apply.
Kindly leave a message if the problem persists.
From India, Kolkata
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180If you can prove this allegation, this is a serious offense. Under the Information Technology Act, when a person tampers with any electronic record to commit a crime (such as the employer committing Criminal Breach of Trust or Cheating, depending on whether there is any indemnity value in the lapse of the notice period), severe punishment is applicable. Therefore, contact an advocate and file a case under section 420, 468 of the IPC along with relevant provisions of the IT Act. Additionally, section 120B of the IPC may apply.
Kindly leave a message if the problem persists.
From India, Kolkata
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@Labour Law Index Thanks a lot for quick reply. After a week of being aggravated and dejected, your reply gives me some hope.
From India, Chennai
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From India, Chennai
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@Labour Law Index
I was supposed to meet a civil lawyer to discuss my current situation at the office and the withheld salary but was unable to do so due to other reasons.
I have attached photos of 3 emails that I received from them, and below are the ways in which they have tampered with the evidence.
> 1st Mail: Please check the forwarded email's date underlined in red (date as per email forward is "2 February 2017 at 01:31")
But the font of the number "2" in the date and the year (2017) is different, and this was achieved only by editing it before sending.
Gmail's default font used in forwards is "Calibri (body)," which is the font of the letter 2 in the year, and the font of the letter 2 in the date is "Verdana."
Interestingly enough, all the other texts written by the email sender (management/director) are in Verdana.
This difference can also be easily found if we simply copy the email and paste (without formatting) it into a Microsoft Word document.
Attached (CompanyCheating) is one such Word document that I created by simply copying the email contents and pasting them into MS-Word and saving it.
Also, I can provide numerous other forwarded emails where such discrepancies would never occur.
> 2nd and 3rd Email: Please check the red box where the forwarded message should start, ideally in the following order:
-------- Forwarded Message ---------
From: =======
Date: =======
Subject: =====
To: =========
CC: ========
<Content>
<Content End>
But from the content within the box outlined in red, there was no forwarded message, "From" and "Date," and everything starts from "Subject."
Again, this can only be done by manually editing the content.
My Opinion,
> Management had planned everything, and that's why my official ID was blocked on 6th Feb itself.
> Then they sent those emails to my official ID on 8th Feb only, and to make it look like it was sent on 2nd, they edited the 1st email before sending it.
> After realizing it could be a serious mistake on their part, which is very much visible, they sent the next two emails after deleting those lines.
> That's why they haven't unlocked my account, even after 3 - 4 emails, and it's been 4 days, and I haven't received any reply yet.
Now my important questions are,
> I can't prove anything unless my official ID is unlocked, and I take a look at it. But I don't think it will happen unless the court or any higher authority says so.
> Just in case this becomes a civil or even criminal case, will my argument and proofs (attached) stand a chance?
From India, Chennai
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I was supposed to meet a civil lawyer to discuss my current situation at the office and the withheld salary but was unable to do so due to other reasons.
I have attached photos of 3 emails that I received from them, and below are the ways in which they have tampered with the evidence.
> 1st Mail: Please check the forwarded email's date underlined in red (date as per email forward is "2 February 2017 at 01:31")
But the font of the number "2" in the date and the year (2017) is different, and this was achieved only by editing it before sending.
Gmail's default font used in forwards is "Calibri (body)," which is the font of the letter 2 in the year, and the font of the letter 2 in the date is "Verdana."
Interestingly enough, all the other texts written by the email sender (management/director) are in Verdana.
This difference can also be easily found if we simply copy the email and paste (without formatting) it into a Microsoft Word document.
Attached (CompanyCheating) is one such Word document that I created by simply copying the email contents and pasting them into MS-Word and saving it.
Also, I can provide numerous other forwarded emails where such discrepancies would never occur.
> 2nd and 3rd Email: Please check the red box where the forwarded message should start, ideally in the following order:
-------- Forwarded Message ---------
From: =======
Date: =======
Subject: =====
To: =========
CC: ========
<Content>
<Content End>
But from the content within the box outlined in red, there was no forwarded message, "From" and "Date," and everything starts from "Subject."
Again, this can only be done by manually editing the content.
My Opinion,
> Management had planned everything, and that's why my official ID was blocked on 6th Feb itself.
> Then they sent those emails to my official ID on 8th Feb only, and to make it look like it was sent on 2nd, they edited the 1st email before sending it.
> After realizing it could be a serious mistake on their part, which is very much visible, they sent the next two emails after deleting those lines.
> That's why they haven't unlocked my account, even after 3 - 4 emails, and it's been 4 days, and I haven't received any reply yet.
Now my important questions are,
> I can't prove anything unless my official ID is unlocked, and I take a look at it. But I don't think it will happen unless the court or any higher authority says so.
> Just in case this becomes a civil or even criminal case, will my argument and proofs (attached) stand a chance?
From India, Chennai
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Checked with a civil lawyer today and to my surprise, he advised not to do anything about it unless things are very, very serious. I believe he wasn't convinced it was a serious offense.
In my view, all the allegations leveled against me are to get my salary, and this is the only way to prove it. Can I sue the employer by providing this proof of tampering with electronic evidence and claim for damages?
From India, Chennai
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In my view, all the allegations leveled against me are to get my salary, and this is the only way to prove it. Can I sue the employer by providing this proof of tampering with electronic evidence and claim for damages?
From India, Chennai
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