The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended time till Tuesday for actor Rajpal Yadav to comply with its direction to deposit ₹ 2 crore towards part payment in a cheque bounce case after he furnished a demand draft of ₹ 1.15 crore and sought an extension to pay the remaining sum.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant told the actor, who was present in court, to deposit the remaining ₹ 85 lakh by Tuesday (October 13). Warning of strict action, the bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said, “You comply with our order to deposit ₹ 85 lakh and for the remaining amount, we will lay down a schedule. Your conduct still does not satisfy us but since you have brought ₹ 1.15 crore, we are willing to give you breathing time. He was accompanied in court by the purchaser of his land parcel who agreed to transfer ₹ 85 lakh by way of a demand draft. The actor, responding in Hindi, said that in 13 years he has acted in over 250 films but after making this film, he has been incurring losses worth over ₹ 22 crore.
Because the sale of a property he seeks to sell could not be completed within the stipulated time due to the period of ‘Shraddh,’ which is not considered good for such transactions, the actor claimed that the remaining money could not be arranged. What was much worse, he said, was the loss of reputation due to the ongoing case as he had to remain in jail for over six months. The actor told the court that the movie was not allowed to run in theatres due to a stay granted by the court which led to losses.
Following this, the court will take up his petition challenging the conviction and three-month sentence imposed by the Delhi High Court. Ideally, your client should be in jail. The court warned the actor, “In your appeal, it is our discretion to issue notice and to enhance your punishment to two years imprisonment. Are you getting any serials or are you without work?
Advocate Vikrant Yadav appearing for the actor told the court that destiny is taking a turn for the better for the actor as he is now getting films to act in and direct. The court interacted with Rajpal Yadav and said, “What are you doing these days? The actor’s lawyer said that the movie was to be made under a joint venture where he was left all alone.
