The Indian Supreme Court has granted actor and comedian Rajpal Yadav a final two-week deadline to deposit at least Rs 20 million (2 crore Indian Rupees) with the Supreme Court Registry in connection with an ongoing financial dispute involving a bounced cheque.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant expressed strict reservations regarding Yadav’s past conduct during the proceedings. Questioning how the court could rely on his promises given his track record, the Chief Justice remarked that while Yadav is an expert at acting and drama in Bollywood, he appears to be staging the same in court.
The court has extended Yadav’s interim protection from arrest until the next hearing scheduled for October 5, while explicitly directing him to surrender his passport to the authorities.
The legal dispute dates back to 2010, when Yadav borrowed Rs 50 million from a private entity to finance his directorial debut film, Ata Pata Lapata. Following the film’s commercial failure, he failed to repay the loan, causing the total due amount—including interest—to balloon to approximately Rs 90 million. During previous hearings, the actor’s counsel informed the bench that roughly Rs 42.5 million had been paid to the complainant thus far.
The case previously saw a magistrate court convict Yadav and his wife, Radha, in 2018, sentencing them to six months in prison. A sessions court upheld the conviction in 2019, prompting Yadav to approach the Delhi High Court. Although the High Court temporarily suspended his sentence in June 2024, the mounting dues led to his surrender at Tihar Jail in February. He was subsequently granted interim bail on February 16 after fulfilling a condition to deposit Rs 15 million, with subsequent reliefs and protections extended by the High Court thereafter.
