Cheque-bounce cases: SC gives actor Rajpal Yadav last chance to deposit Rs 2 crore in 2 weeks

The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave a last opportunity to actor Rajpal Yadav to pay the outstanding amount to a private firm and directed him to deposit Rs 2 crore with the court’s Registry.

“He is an actor in Bollywood. We hope he is not acting here as well. His past conduct does not inspire confidence. As a last opportunity, two weeks is granted to honour the order,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said, noting that the court’s earlier orders had not been complied with.

The Bench, which also comprised Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, extended Yadav’s exemption from surrendering until the next date of hearing.

The order came after senior counsel PS Patwalia sought two weeks on behalf of the actor to come up with a concrete proposal to pay the outstanding amount. Patwalia said the actor would deposit Rs 2 crore to prove his bona fides.

“He has already suffered jail time — about four and a half months. Kindly give him two weeks. Kindly list it after two weeks. I will try to comply,” Patwalia submitted.

Yadav had spent four-and-a-half months in prison, and his friends in the entertainment industry had to bail him out, he said.

Senior advocate Ajit Sinha, representing the complainant, M/s Murali Projects Pvt Ltd, said they were concerned about the money as Yadav had failed to honour his commitments.

Upholding Yadav’s conviction in multiple cheque-bounce cases, the Delhi High Court on July 10 sentenced him to three months’ imprisonment.

The complainant alleged that in 2013, Yadav tendered seven cheques of Rs 1.05 crore each towards the settlement of financial assistance of Rs 5 crore provided to him for a film in 2010. The cheques were dishonoured, the firm alleged.

An agreement between the parties in 2012 stated that Yadav, his wife and their company had agreed to repay around Rs 11 crore, including interest, the complainant claimed.