New Delhi: Actor Rajpal Yadav was pulled up by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a court proceeding, with the CJI taking a light-hearted dig at the actor’s film ‘Ata Pata Laapata’.
The CJI also remarked that advocates appearing before the Supreme Court could be cast in Yadav’s films.
According to news agency ANI, Yadav told the Court that he would pay ₹2 crore and produced a demand draft worth ₹1.15 crore. The buyer of his property, who was present in court, was expected to pay the remaining ₹85 lakh.
A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed Yadav to deposit ₹2 crore towards the amount due to the complainant by October 13.
The Court said it would consider Yadav’s plea challenging the Delhi High Court order only after the payment was made.
The High Court had convicted the actor and sentenced him to three months in jail for failing to repay a loan taken from a private party.
Yadav’s counsel told the Court that he had approached the Registry to make the payment through RTGS, but the mode was not permitted.
He subsequently produced the ₹1.15-crore demand draft, while the buyer of his property was to pay the remaining amount.
The Court clarified that the extensions granted to Yadav were aimed solely at securing payment to the complainant and cautioned the actor over his conduct.
“Law should not be utilised like this,” the Court said.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi also questioned whether Yadav had served any jail term and indicated that the Court could consider enhancing his sentence.
The case stems from an alleged ₹5-crore loan taken by Yadav from M/s Murli Projects Pvt Ltd in 2010 for his film Ata Pata Laapata.
Seven cheques of ₹1.05 crore each issued towards repayment were dishonoured, leading to cheque-bounce proceedings. The outstanding dues subsequently increased with interest and other charges.
After passing the order, the bench had a brief informal exchange with Yadav, who spoke about the losses incurred by Ata Pata Laapata.
He claimed that the film resulted in losses of around ₹200–250 crore and said the producers had also suffered financially.
Taking a cue from the film’s title, CJI Surya Kant quipped, “Like your movie, your money is also Ata Pata Laapata, gayab (missing).”
The CJI then advised Yadav to make good films and entertain audiences, while joking that advocates appearing before the Supreme Court were also good actors and could feature in his films.
Yadav also told the Court that despite the losses incurred by Ata Pata Laapata, he was still being pursued over the ₹5-crore liability.
The Court had on October 5 criticised Yadav for failing to comply with its earlier direction to deposit ₹2 crore.
On September 15, it had granted him a final two-week opportunity to deposit the amount and submit a concrete repayment plan.