Employment Bonds Requirement for a H1B Worker

My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: New York
Hi. I worked in a software company which is based out of India. I'm an Indian by nationality.I was deputed to US for a project on H1B visa. Before leaving the country I was asked to sign a bond stating that I cannot leave the company while in US as I was a deputed employee and I have to serve for a period of 6 months after going back to India. Failing to do so, I would be liable to pay the company Rs 5,00,000.
After joining the US office I subsequently joined another company because of a better offer. Now my previous organization is asking me to pay the amount mentioned before. The HR tells me there are different rules for deputed employees and those hired in US. Is this legal as per US labor laws? Can I drag the organization to the courts for this?

It is Indian law that applies to your question, not U.S. law. You made the agreement with your employer while in India and the employer with whom you signed the agreement is apparently in India, too. In the U.S. there is no such thing as a “deputed” employee.

When you are present in the U.S. on a H1B visa, your employer may not require that you pay a financial penalty for leaving your employment before a date set in your employment contract. Review this fact sheet. You may report H1B violations to the Department of Labor.

Taxing Matters is correct that if this is a matter of contract law in India (e.g., you signed up with a recruiter and agreed to pay the recruiter a stipulated penalty in the event that you quit the job that they found for you within six months) it would be interpreted under the laws of India and enforced in that nation's courts. It may be that India would enforce the contract, even if the Department of Labor finds the fee to be a violation of the rules governing H1B workers.

OP, Never sign a contract that you do not intend to honor. It seems like you would sign anything to come to the US. While you may get out of the contract this time, you cannot count on ignoring employment agreements , especially those made in the US with reputable American companies, every time.

What makes you think you can take the company to court? What do you think you would accomplish? You are the one violating the agreement. You can respond to the demand by getting legal representation or filing as previous responses indicated.