Mumbai: Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav has been given a final two-week opportunity by the Supreme Court to deposit at least Rs 2 crore with the SC Registry in connection with his ongoing financial dispute with a private complainant.A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said Yadav’s earlier conduct in the matter did not give the court much confidence. However, the court granted him two more weeks after his lawyer assured the bench that he would deposit at least Rs 2 crore within the given time and provide a surety for the remaining amount.During the hearing, CJI Surya Kant questioned whether Yadav could be trusted to follow through on the commitment, referring to his past conduct in the matter. The Chief Justice said, “Looking at his past conduct.. how can anybody trust him? He’s perfect in doing drama and acting in Bollywood, he’s doing same thing in court also.”The court has also continued the protection granted to Yadav against arrest until the next hearing, which is scheduled for October 5. However, it has directed the actor to surrender his passport.The dispute dates back to 2010, when Yadav took a loan of around Rs 5 crore from a Delhi-based company to make his first film as a director, ‘Ata Pata Laapata.’ The comedy film did not perform well at the box office and reportedly failed to earn enough to cover its costs. Yadav then faced difficulties in repaying the loan.The unpaid amount continued to increase over the years due to interest and other charges and reportedly reached nearly Rs 9 crore. The dispute later led to a cheque bounce case against the actor.The current proceedings relate to the amount claimed by the private complainant, the owner of Murali Productions.
