The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended time till Tuesday for actor Rajpal Yadav to comply with its direction to deposit ₹2 crore towards part payment in a cheque bounce case after he furnished a demand draft of ₹1.15 crore and sought an extension to pay the remaining sum.
What the SC told Rajpal Yadav
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant told the actor, who was present in court, to deposit the remaining ₹85 lakh by Tuesday (October 13). Following this, the court will take up his petition challenging the conviction and three-month sentence imposed by the Delhi High Court.
Warning of strict action, the bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said, “You comply with our order to deposit ₹85 lakh and for the remaining amount, we will lay down a schedule. Ideally, your client should be in jail. Your conduct still does not satisfy us but since you have brought ₹1.15 crore, we are willing to give you breathing time.”
The actor claimed that the remaining money could not be arranged because the sale of a property he seeks to sell could not be completed within the stipulated time due to the period of ‘Shraddh,’ which is not considered good for such transactions. He was accompanied in court by the purchaser of his land parcel who agreed to transfer ₹85 lakh by way of a demand draft.
The court warned the actor, “In your appeal, it is our discretion to issue notice and to enhance your punishment to two years imprisonment.”
Advocate Vikrant Yadav appearing for the actor told the court that destiny is taking a turn for the better for the actor as he is now getting films to act in and direct. The court interacted with Rajpal Yadav and said, “What are you doing these days? Are you getting any serials or are you without work?”
Rajpal talks about loss of reputation
The actor, responding in Hindi, said that in 13 years he has acted in over 250 films but after making this film, he has been incurring losses worth over ₹22 crore. What was much worse, he said, was the loss of reputation due to the ongoing case as he had to remain in jail for over six months.
Rajpal had taken a loan of over ₹5 crore for the production of a film in 2010 from M/s Murli Projects Limited, with a commitment to repay ₹8 crore on which he defaulted. The firm filed a criminal case against Yadav ending in his conviction and sentence of three months in May 2024.
CJI remarked, “Now your money is ‘gayab and lapata’ (lost and cannot be found). We hope now you have learnt a lesson. You make a good movie and entertain people. Your reputation will automatically be redeemed.”
The actor’s lawyer said that the movie was to be made under a joint venture where he was left all alone. The actor told the court that the movie was not allowed to run in theatres due to a stay granted by the court which led to losses.
Senior advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha appearing for Murli Projects along with advocate Manish Raghav said, “If he is willing to pay ₹2 crore, this court may fix the schedule for the remaining amount.”
The court directed the matter to be listed for hearing after the payment is made.
The high court had convicted him over his failure to deposit the principal loan of ₹5 crore on which interest had accrued. The top court had admitted his appeal on September 8 and directed him to deposit his passport and prove his bonafides by depositing ₹2 crore. He was granted an exemption from surrendering, which has been extended from time to time.