The Supreme Court on Monday sharply criticised actor Rajpal Yadav for failing to honour his undertaking to deposit money towards the dues of a private firm in a long-running set of cheque-bounce cases. The court noted that the two-week period granted to him on September 15 had ended and no payment had been made by October 5.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed that the payment be made by Tuesday and listed the matter for hearing on Wednesday as the first case. The bench said it could dismiss Yadav’s appeal, but was reluctant to do so as that might affect the complainant’s chances of recovering the money.
During the hearing, Yadav’s counsel said, “They (complainant) are not poor.” Justice Bagchi reacted sharply, saying, “They may be richer than you, but they are poor to the extent you have swindled them. This arrogance needs to be put in its right place. You should know when to open your mouth. Your place is in jail.”
The bench noted that Yadav had been directed to make the payment by Monday but had failed to comply. His counsel then produced a copy of a demand draft for Rs 50 lakh and said it was being processed by the bank. The bench responded, “Is this genuine or not? We don’t know.” When the counsel said the demand draft was still with the bank, the complainant’s lawyer accused the actor of repeatedly failing to follow court directions.
Senior advocate Ajit Sinha, appearing for the complainant, said, “He is a film actor. He is acting here also. He has no respect for the majesty of the institution.” Sinha, appearing for M/s Murali Projects Pvt Ltd, said the complainant was concerned with recovering its money as Yadav had not honoured his commitments.
According to the complainant, Yadav had in 2013 given seven cheques of Rs 1.05 crore each towards settlement of financial assistance of Rs 5 crore given to him for a film in 2010, but the cheques were dishonoured. The firm also said an agreement signed in 2012 stated that Yadav, his wife and their company had agreed to repay around Rs 11 crore, including interest.
On September 15, the top court had given Yadav a final two weeks to place a concrete proposal for paying the outstanding amount and had directed him to deposit Rs 2 crore with the apex court registry. It had also extended his exemption from surrendering till October 5. At that hearing, the bench had said, “He is perfect at doing drama… Earlier orders of the court have not been complied with,” while adding that although Yadav’s conduct did not inspire confidence, he would be given one last opportunity. Appearing for Yadav, senior advocate P S Patwalia had sought two weeks to come up with a concrete proposal and said Rs 2 crore would be deposited to show his bona fide. Patwalia had also said Yadav spent four-and-a-half months in prison and that his friends in the entertainment industry had to bail him out.
Earlier, on September 8, the Supreme Court had issued notice on Yadav’s plea and said he would be exempt from surrendering subject to depositing Rs 5 crore with the court registry.
On July 10, the Delhi High Court upheld Yadav’s conviction in multiple cheque-bounce cases and sentenced him to three months’ imprisonment. The high court refused to condone the “extraordinary” delay of 1,894 days, or more than five years, in filing petitions against the conviction, and directed him to pay more than Rs 1 crore to the complainant in each of the seven complaints. It said around Rs 2 crore already paid by the actor would be adjusted and kept the sentence in abeyance for two months to allow him to move the appellate court.
The high court also ordered Yadav’s wife, Radha Rajpal Yadav, to pay around Rs 5.5 lakh as fine to the complainant in each case, with three months’ simple imprisonment in default. The verdict came on revision petitions filed by Yadav and his wife against a 2019 sessions court order upholding their conviction by a magisterial court in April 2018, which had sentenced the actor to six months’ imprisonment, later reduced to three months.
The case will now come up again on Wednesday, with the Supreme Court making it clear that Yadav must make the payment by Tuesday after finding that he had failed to meet the deadline set in its earlier order.