Can a company force it's employee to serve the notice period?

Employment Agreement between the employer and employee determine the terms of employment, including termination. The terms relating to notice period are also covered under the said Agreement. Usually the terms of the Employment Agreement stipulate for termination of employment by either of the parties, i.e. by the Employer or the Employee, by giving a written notice of stipulated days (as per the Agreement), in this case 90 days; or gross salary of the said days (90 days) in lieu thereof. Therefore, if the employee tenders his resignation, he can choose to serve the notice period or pay penalty for the notice period. If the employee does not wish to render the notice period but is willing to compensate the employer by remitting salary equivalent to the time prescribed for the notice period, then the company cannot force the employer to serve the notice period. The terms of the employment Agreement bind the parties and the Company cannot coerce the employee to serve, in the event the employee is willing to compensate the employer as stated above. The Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Sanjay Jain v. National Aviation Co. of India Ltd., held that it is a right of the employee to resign and he cannot be forced to serve unless and subject to the terms of appointment stipulated.