The Supreme Court on Monday strongly criticised actor Rajpal Yadav for failing to comply with an undertaking to deposit money towards dues owed to a private firm in a long-running series of cheque-bounce cases. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana noted that Yadav had not complied with its September 15 direction to submit a concrete payment proposal and deposit Rs 2 crore with the court registry.
During the hearing, the actor's counsel produced a demand draft of Rs 50 lakh and said it was being processed by the bank. The bench questioned whether the payment instrument was genuine and noted that it could dismiss Yadav's appeal. However, the court said it was reluctant to take that step because doing so could affect the complainant firm's ability to recover the money. The bench directed Yadav to make the payment by Tuesday and scheduled the matter for Wednesday.
The case relates to financial assistance of Rs 5 crore that the complainant, Murali Projects Pvt Ltd, allegedly provided to Yadav in 2010 for a film. According to the firm, an agreement reached in 2012 required Yadav, his wife and their company to repay about Rs 11 crore, including interest. Seven cheques of Rs 1.05 crore each issued in 2013 towards the dues were subsequently dishonoured.
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The dispute has continued through several rounds of litigation and payment commitments. The Supreme Court had on September 15 given Yadav a final two-week opportunity to propose a plan for clearing the outstanding amount and directed him to deposit Rs 2 crore. His protection from surrender was also extended until October 5. Earlier, on September 8, the court had granted him exemption from surrendering subject to a Rs 5 crore deposit with the registry.
The Delhi High Court on July 10 upheld Yadav's conviction in the multiple cheque-bounce cases and sentenced him to three months in prison. It also directed him to pay more than Rs 1 crore to the complainant in each of the seven cases, while adjusting around Rs 2 crore that had already been deposited. The High Court had earlier dealt with repeated delays and payment undertakings during the prolonged proceedings.
The Supreme Court's latest proceedings centre on whether Yadav will comply with the payment directions while his appeal remains pending. The bench has indicated that its priority is to ensure the complainant's ability to recover the dues, while also requiring the actor to honour the commitments made before the court. The matter is scheduled to return before the bench on Wednesday after the payment deadline set during Monday's hearing.
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