The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed actor Rajpal Yadav to deposit ₹ 2 crore towards the amount due to the complainant in a cheque-bounce case by October 13.
The court said it would consider Yadav’s plea challenging the High Court order only after the payment is made.
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.
Rajpal was present in court, and had brought a demand draft of ₹ 1.15 crore, according to ANI. The remaining ₹ 85 lakh is to be paid by October 13 through a buyer of his property, who was also present in court along with the actor. On the remaining ₹ 85 lakh, his counsel said a buyer of Yadav’s property was present in court and the amount would be paid once the transaction was completed. After passing the order, the bench had an informal exchange with Yadav, who spoke about the financial difficulties caused by his 2012 film Ata Pata Laapata. The actor claimed the film had resulted in losses of around ₹ 200-250 crore and that the producers had also suffered.
Yadav had therefore brought a demand draft of ₹ 1.15 crore. During the exchange, the Chief Justice of India remarked in jest that the title of the film was synonymous with Yadav’s conduct, “Like your movie, your money is also Ata Pata Laapata, gayab.
During the hearing, Yadav’s counsel told the court that the actor had approached the Registry to make the payment, but RTGS was not permissible. Yadav then greeted the bench, saying, “Pranam karta hoon,” and spoke about how he had endured losses of ₹ 200-250 crore over the film.
