'How can anyone trust him?' SC raps Rajpal Yadav, extends time to pay ₹2 crore in cheque bounce cases

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.

“Knowing his past conduct, how can anybody on earth trust him?” a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana observed as it took up Yadav’s application seeking more time to comply with the September 8 Supreme Court order exempting him from surrendering on the sole condition that he deposits money within 24 hours.

The bench extended its earlier order exempting him from surrender until October 5, underlining that it is a one “last opportunity” to prove his bona fides. It allowed his request for a two-week extension to deposit ₹2 crore.

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.

Senior advocate PS Patwalia, who appeared for Yadav, told the bench that his client is in genuine financial distress. He added Yadav needs “some breathing time” to arrange the money. Patwalia requested two weeks to arrange ₹2 crore. He informed the bench that Yadav’s mother has some immovable property that will be used to arrange the money.

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. “...we take a lenient view making it clear that as a last opportunity. Two weeks are granted to the petitioner to honour our September 8 order.”

Patwalia said the other side also is not going to get the money if Yadav is sent to jail. “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 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.

Senior advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha, who appeared for Murli Projects, said attempts to secure the money have failed. He added that the principal loan amount is ₹7.5 crore without interest. Sinha said the immovable property Yadav is talking about is under mortgage.

Yadav sought release on probation after the trial court sentenced him in May 2024. The high court upheld the trial court order after giving Yadav opportunities to honour his undertaking to repay the loan amount.

The high court noted that Yadav and his wife had paid ₹2.25 crore to the complainant during the pendency of proceedings.