Gratuity received at the time of resignation

a person resigned from pvt.company 1 covered under payment of gratuity act worked for 8yrs 10 months, recvd gratuity 1.5 lacs .
he joined new company ,worked for 2 months during fy 2018-19.

while filing return ,he claimed deduction u/s 10(10) for 1.5 lacs .
however department issued notice stating that claim for deduction is not admissible, amount of deduction will be 0.
please suggest whether department is correct or not