The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended time for actor Rajpal Yadav to furnish ₹ 2 crore within two weeks in cheque bounce cases, even as it said it had no faith in him. It cited his past conduct in the Delhi high court, which sentenced Yadav to three months’ imprisonment.
The bench reminded Yadav of the opportunities the high court granted him to fulfil his commitment to repay the loan for production of a film in 2010. The high court on July 10 sentenced him and his wife to three months’ imprisonment. Two weeks are granted to the petitioner to honour our September 8 order. The complainant, Murli Projects, filed a criminal case against Yadav, saying he took a ₹ 5 crore loan in 2010 to produce the film ‘Ata Pata Lapata’ with a commitment to repay ₹ 8 crore but defaulted. He added that the principal loan amount is ₹ 7.5 crore without interest.
“…we take a lenient view making it clear that as a last opportunity. “For over four months, he has remained in jail until his fraternity came together to bail him out. If he does not honour now, the writing on the wall is very much clear.
The bench told Patwalia that Yadav’s theatrical skills are well known in Bollywood. “Our only concern is that he does not perform such drama with the court, what he is known to do perfectly in Bollywood,” the bench said. Patwalia said the other side also is not going to get the money if Yadav is sent to jail. Senior advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha, who appeared for Murli Projects, said attempts to secure the money have failed. Sinha said the immovable property Yadav is talking about is under mortgage.
