NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed actor Rajpal Yadav to deposit Rs 2 crore towards the amount due to the complainant in a cheque-bounce case by October 13, saying it would consider his plea against the High Court order after the payment is made.Yadav, who was present in court, brought a demand draft of Rs 1.15 crore, while the remaining Rs 85 lakh is to be paid by October 13 through a buyer of his property, who was also present in court.The court, however, came down heavily on Yadav’s conduct and warned that it could enhance his sentence, saying repeated extensions were being granted only to ensure that the complainant received the money.The Court said the deposit was directed to secure the amount due to the complainant and observed that Yadav’s conduct had not satisfied it.“Law should not be utilised like this”, the Court said.After passing the order, the bench had an informal exchange with Yadav, who spoke about the financial difficulties caused by his film Ata Pata Laapata. He said the film had resulted in losses of around Rs 200-250 crore and that the producers had also suffered losses.During the hearing, the Court also remarked in jest that the film’s title was synonymous with Yadav’s conduct.“Like your movie, your money is also Ata Pata Laapata, gayab”, the CJI said.Before the order was passed, film actor Rajpal Yadav appeared before the Supreme Court for the hearing of a cheque-bounce case against him and said, “The matter is before the honourable Supreme Court, and our legal team and lawyers will speak on the issue. I have the utmost respect for my country and for the Supreme Court. Whatever decision is taken by the court, wherever and whenever it is delivered, will be universally accepted.“Yadav later greeted the bench, saying, “Pranam karta hoon,” and spoke about the losses of Rs 200-250 crore he had incurred over the film.The CJI advised him to make a good film and entertain people, adding in jest that advocates appearing before the Supreme Court were also good actors and could be cast in his films.
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Yadav’s counsel told the Court that he had approached the Registry to make the payment, but RTGS was not permissible. He said the actor had therefore brought a demand draft of Rs 1.15 crore.On the remaining Rs 85 lakh, the counsel said a buyer of Yadav’s property was present in court and the amount would be paid once the transaction was completed.Yadav submitted that the dispute arose from a Rs 5 crore liability connected with the film Ata Pata Laapata, while the film had caused much larger losses.The case arises from an alleged loan extended to Yadav by Murli Projects Pvt Ltd in 2010 for Ata Pata Laapata. Seven repayment cheques of Rs 1.05 crore each were subsequently dishonoured.
