What is your industry? Give some details regarding your organization and then ask the question. If your industry is covered under the Companies Act, then you must maintain the records for 8 years. In case of any litigation during the period, the attendance must be maintained until the litigation is sorted out, including the limitation period.
Most of the labor laws require the records to be kept for a period of 3 years from the date of the last entry in the register. Of course, in the case of a dispute, the records need to be kept until settlement.
You need to consider your industry and the acts that apply to it. The record period is generally mentioned towards the end of the act. Bhaskar, the requirement under the Companies Act refers to accounting records and not to HR records.
Record keeping depends on the company's policy according to the law. Nowadays, this policy is typically incorporated under quality management systems for a clearer idea. Various documents require different time-bound periods for keeping records.
You need to show them the rules under the Factory Act (Central, rules will apply) and under the Payment of Wages Act, both of which require you to maintain records for a period of 3 years from the date of the last entry made in the register concerned. So you don't have to keep attendance records for more than 3 years.
Considering that you are going to have a problem, I suggest you get a lawyer or consultant involved who knows how to deal with them. There must be a particular underlying reason for them asking for 10 years of records.
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