Rajpal Yadav given final deadline to deposit Rs200 million in cheque bounce case

India’s Supreme Court has expressed strong displeasure over Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav’s failure to comply with court

NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court has expressed strong displeasure over Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav’s failure to comply with court orders in a cheque bounce case, giving him a final opportunity to deposit Rs200 million from the outstanding amount.

A bench headed by the Chief Justice heard the matter and made it clear that the court was considering dismissing Yadav’s plea over his continued non-compliance. The bench observed that the actor could face imprisonment for violating the court’s directions, but stressed that its primary concern was to ensure that the affected party received the money owed to them.

During the proceedings, Yadav’s lawyer submitted photocopies of four demand drafts, each worth Rs50 million, claiming that the actor had arranged the amount towards repayment. However, the complainant’s counsel objected to the documents, questioning their authenticity.

The lawyer representing the opposing party reportedly argued that Yadav was an actor and was therefore capable of producing documents that could potentially be misleading or fraudulent. The objection prompted further scrutiny from the court regarding whether the payment had actually been made and whether the submitted documents were genuine.

The case relates to a loan taken by Rajpal Yadav in 2010 to finance the production of his film Ata Pata Laapata. According to the case details, the actor had borrowed Rs500 million and was required to repay the amount along with additional dues, bringing the total liability to approximately Rs800 million.

Yadav allegedly failed to repay the amount as agreed, eventually leading to legal proceedings against him. The matter was subsequently taken up by the Delhi High Court, which had already sentenced the actor to three months in prison for failing to honour his commitments in connection with the case.

The latest proceedings before the Supreme Court have focused on Yadav’s alleged failure to follow previous judicial directions, including an order concerning the submission of his passport. The court took serious notice of the fact that the passport had not been deposited despite its directions.

The Supreme Court has now granted Yadav a final opportunity to comply with the payment-related order. The bench indicated that although it could take a strict view of the actor’s conduct and consider sending him to jail, it wanted to give priority to recovering the money owed to the complainant.

The court has adjourned further proceedings until October 7, when Yadav’s compliance with the latest order is expected to be reviewed.

The development puts the Bollywood actor under renewed legal pressure, with the Supreme Court making it clear that continued failure to comply with its directions could result in further action against him. The case has also drawn attention because of the substantial amount involved and the long-running dispute dating back to the financing of his 2010 film.