Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav has been granted interim bail by the Delhi High Court and released from Tihar jail in connection with a case filed by businessman Madhav Gopal Aggarwal. Following the court’s decision, the actor’s lawyer, Bhaskar Upadhyay, spoke about the origins of the long-standing dispute and how it unfolded over the years.
According to Bhaskar, the matter dates back to the production of Rajpal’s film Ata Pata Laapata. He explained that Madhav had loaned Rs 5 crore to the actor for the project.
A Hindustan Times report stated that the two parties initially signed an agreement, followed by three supplementary agreements up until August 2012. Under the latest agreement, Rajpal had issued five cheques to the businessman, which were to be encashed starting December 2012.
However, the situation reportedly escalated during the film’s music launch in September 2012, where megastar Amitabh Bachchan was present.
“In September, Amitabh Bachchan stepped in for the film’s music launch and the complainant wanted to share the stage with him. Rajpal’s team said no to that as Mr Bachchan wasn’t taking any favours for his presence, and the complainant got annoyed by that. He moved to the Delhi HC in September 2012 on the basis of that agreement, asking for a stay on the film until his dues were cleared. The case was dragged till December 2012 when he deposited the first cheque of Rs 60,60,350 which was honoured,” Bhaskar shares.
The lawyer further stated that the complainant later filed an undertaking to lift the stay on the film. In 2013, both sides entered into a consent agreement, which nullified all previous agreements. Bhaskar added that in 2016, a fresh consent decree was passed.
“A fresh consent decree was passed in 2016 and as per law it is unchallengeable by either parties. The amount of Rs 10.40 crore was due as per that. The complainant signed an undertaking that previous agreements will not be revived if the said amount is returned to them. The HC also said that the recovery of this money should only be done by way of execution,” he shares.
An execution petition was subsequently filed in 2016, and Rs 1.90 crore were paid to the complainant. For the remaining amount, another guarantor, Mr Anant Dattaram, came forward, with documents reportedly available to the publication. However, the complainant allegedly declined the surety.
“He offered his property valued at Rs 15 crore as surety for him, asking for one month's time to return the amount. Surprisingly, the complainant refused to take this and asked for Rajpal ji’s imprisonment for the satisfaction of the decree. The execution stated this in writing and added that since no other mode of execution is suggested, the execution was closed,” Bhaskar shares.
The case took another turn in 2018. According to the lawyer, while the execution proceedings were ongoing, the complainant revived cheques from the third supplementary agreement, which was supposed to have been nullified after the consent agreement.
In March 2018, the trial court convicted Rajpal and imposed a fine of Rs 11.5 crore. Later that year, in November, the execution court sentenced him to three months’ imprisonment for what Bhaskar described as the same cause of action.
Rajpal’s legal team challenged the order in 2019. However, Bhaskar claimed that a change in counsel led to complications. “The new judge said they didn’t find any merit and the counsel for Rajpal ji admitted that then they are ready to pay the amount if given a chance for mediation. And the court wrote this in their observation,” Bhaskar informs.
He added that because of this development, the matter remains ongoing. As per the latest update, Rajpal’s team has requested the court to hear their arguments in detail and decide the case on its merits.
