Actor Rajpal Yadav landed in trouble over payment of settlement amounts in a bounced check case. He surrendered to the Tihar jail authorities in Delhi and his bail hearing was adjourned. The relief came from the Delhi High Court after the actor surrendered to the police for the unpaid debt. Filmmaker Priyadarshan, who has worked with Rajpal in several films and has also previously shared his concern for him over the matter, has now commented on it again with news agency ANI. (Also Read: Priyadarshan breaks silence on Rajpal Yadav’s jail term, says he made a ‘mistake’ due to his rudeness)
What Priyadarshan said
In a statement, the filmmaker said, “My relationship with Rajpal, I have known him for many years and I would say he is the most innocent actor I have ever seen in my life.”
“There were so many people willing to help him.”
He added: “This guy was so innocent that he fell into a trap, and because of that, our relationship will never change. If it had been anyone else, so many people wouldn’t have come together to help him. There were so many people ready to help him because they understand how innocent this guy is. You can see the innocence in his face, and the same innocence is also in his heart.”
What do we know about the case?
The Delhi High Court granted interim bail to the actor till March 18. Magistrate Swarana Kanta Sharma granted Rajpal interim bail, subject to his deposit. $1 lakh as surety and providing surety bond. Earlier in the hearing, the court had ordered Rajpal to deposit $1.5 crore at 3 pm for interim bail. After the plaintiff’s lawyer, M/S Murli Project, confirmed that the actor had deposited the amount in the company’s bank accounts against the bounced check amount, bail was granted.
The case dates back to 2010, when Rajpal borrowed $5 crore from Delhi-based Murali Projects Pvt Ltd to finance his directorial debut, Ata Pata Laapata (2012). The film’s commercial failure led to heavy losses and a financial dispute. In 2018, a magistrate court convicted the actor of non-payment of checks under the Negotiable Instruments Act, and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment, a decision upheld by a sessions court in 2019. The amount owed eventually rose to almost $9 crores.
Several celebrities have stepped forward to support him since news of his prison sentence emerged. Sonu Sood was one of the first to publicly offer his help. Gurmeet Choudhary, Guru Randhawa and Mika Singh offered financial help.