Supreme Court orders Rajpal Yadav to pay Rs2 crore by Oct 13: 'Your money is also Ata Pata Laapata'

Dubai: India's Supreme Court has ordered actor Rajpal Yadav to deposit Rs2 crore (Rs20 million, about Dh820,000) by October 13, in a long-running cheque-bounce case linked to his 2012 film Ata Pata Laapata.

The court said it would only consider Yadav's appeal against a Delhi High Court order once the full amount has been paid. The bench also criticised his conduct during Wednesday's hearing and warned that his sentence could be increased.

A demand draft and a property sale

Yadav attended the hearing in person and brought a demand draft for Rs1.15 crore (about Dh471,500), according to news agency ANI.

His lawyer told the court that the actor had tried to pay through the Registry, but that RTGS bank transfers were not allowed, so he had brought a demand draft instead.

The remaining Rs85 lakh (about Dh348,500) is due to be paid by October 13 by a buyer of Yadav's property, who was also in court. The lawyer said the payment would be made once that sale went through.

'Your money is also Ata Pata Laapata'

After passing the order, the bench had an informal exchange with Yadav, who spoke about the financial problems caused by Ata Pata Laapata. He claimed the film had led to losses of around Rs200 crore to Rs250 crore (about Dh82 million to Dh102.5 million), and that its producers had suffered too.

The Chief Justice of India responded with a joke about the film's title, which roughly means "whereabouts unknown".

"Like your movie, your money is also Ata Pata Laapata, gayab," the Chief Justice said. (Gayab means vanished.)

Yadav greeted the bench with "Pranam karta hoon" (My respects to you). In response, the Chief Justice advised him to make a good film and entertain people, joking that lawyers who appear before the Supreme Court were also good actors and could be cast in his films.

'Loans aren't taken out for films'

Speaking to the media in Delhi after the hearing, Yadav disputed that the money was a loan.

"Loans aren't taken out for films. You take a loan to build a house or buy land, not to make movies. It's either a package deal or an investment. Rajpal Yadav is already working on a hundred films himself, so why would he need a loan to make one?" he said.

He added that he would accept the court's ruling. "I have the utmost respect for my country, the Supreme Court, and the judiciary. Whatever decision is reached, wherever it comes from, it will be accepted by all."

A case dating back to 2010

The dispute dates back to 2010, when Yadav received around Rs5 crore (about Dh2.05 million) from Delhi-based Murli Projects Pvt Ltd to fund Ata Pata Laapata, which he directed. The company alleges that in 2013, Yadav handed over seven cheques of Rs1.05 crore each towards settling the amount, and that all of them bounced.

A magistrate's court convicted Yadav and his wife, Radha Rajpal Yadav, in April 2018, and a sessions court upheld that ruling in 2019. On July 10 this year, the Delhi High Court upheld the conviction and sentenced the actor to three months in prison. Yadav then challenged that order in the Supreme Court.

Yadav's lawyer has previously told the court that around Rs4.25 crore has already been paid to the complainant.

A final chance

This is not the first time the Supreme Court has pressed Yadav to pay.

At a hearing on September 15, Chief Justice Surya Kant gave him a final two weeks to deposit Rs2 crore and ordered him to surrender his passport. "Looking at his past conduct, how can anybody trust him? He's perfect in doing drama and acting in Bollywood; he's doing the same thing in court also," the Chief Justice said at the time.