The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed actor Rajpal Yadav to deposit ₹ 5 crore with its Registry by Wednesday as a condition for exempting him from surrendering to serve his sentence in a cheque-bounce case involving film producer-financier Murli Projects Pvt Ltd.
The Delhi High Court had required the actor to surrender to serve the sentence, with September 10 being the deadline, after dismissing his criminal revisions against the conviction and sentence. Back in 2010, Rajpal Yadav had borrowed ₹ 5 crore from M/s Murali Projects Pvt Ltd for his directorial debut film, Ata Pata Laapata. Rajpal’s failure to clear the dues, coupled with the accumulating interest, increased the outstanding amount to nearly ₹ 9 crore.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana passed the order after his plea was orally mentioned. The case arises from seven complaints filed by Murli Projects against Yadav, his wife Radha Rajpal Yadav and their film production company over dishonour of seven cheques issued in connection with financing for the film Ata Pata Lapata. However, the film turned out to be a box office flop. This eventually led to a prolonged legal battle.
In February, after failing to clear the dues, he surrendered and was sent to Tihar Jail. He was later granted interim bail on February 16 after depositing ₹ 1.5 crore, following confirmation from the complainant’s lawyer. The actor also requested a 30-day extension to arrange the loan amount, but the Delhi High Court rejected his request and reserved its verdict.
The relief was extended, with the Delhi High Court stating that he would not be taken back into custody even after the earlier interim order was set aside.
