Supreme Court gives actor Rajpal Yadav final two weeks to pay ’2 crore and hand over passports

The Supreme Court has given Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav a final two-week window to deposit at least ’2 crore and hand over his and his wife’s passports to avoid being sent back to prison over a long-running cheque-bounce dispute.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana extended Yadav’s protection from surrendering to jail until 5 October. However, the judges made it clear their patience is wearing thin.

"He is an actor in Bollywood. We hope he is not acting here also," Chief Justice Kant remarked, noting that the actor’s past conduct "does not inspire confidence."

Yadav’s lawyer, Senior Advocate P.S. Patwalia, pleaded for "breathing time," explaining that the actor currently has no funds but is actively trying to raise the money. Patwalia told the court that Yadav intends to sell an immovable property belonging to his mother to secure the funds. He also mentioned that Yadav has already spent four and a half months in prison and that his colleagues in the film industry are trying to help bail him out.

What is the dispute about?

The legal battle traces back to 2010, when Yadav took financial assistance of ’5 crore from Delhi-based firm M/s Murali Projects Private Limited to fund a film.

To settle the debt, Yadav issued seven cheques of ’1.05 crore each in 2013, all of which bounced. The complainant argued that under a 2012 agreement, Yadav, his wife Radha, and their company had agreed to repay around ’11 crore, including interest.

In July, the Delhi High Court upheld Yadav’s conviction and a three-month prison sentence, refusing to overlook an "extraordinary" delay of over five years in filing his appeal. The High Court ordered Yadav to pay more than ’1 crore for each of the seven bounced cheques, minus about ’2 crore he has already paid.

It also fined his wife, Radha, around ’5.5 lakh per case, warning she would face three months in jail if she failed to pay.

What happens next?

Yadav was initially ordered by the Supreme Court on 8 September to deposit ’5 crore to remain free. Having failed to meet that deadline, his legal team has now promised to return by 5 October with a concrete repayment plan and a deposit of at least ’2 crore.

The firm’s lawyer, Senior Advocate Ajit Sinha, told the court his clients simply want their money, as Yadav has repeatedly failed to honour his commitments.