The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday greenlit actor Rajpal Yadav's move to proceed with the proposed sale of his ancestral property, so that he can clear dues in a cheque bounce case, while ordering him to deposit Rs 2 crore towards the amount payable to the complainant by October 13, 2026.

A bench of the SC, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana gave the nod to the proposal after Yadav appeared before the top court with a demand draft for Rs 1.15 crore. The remaining Rs 85 lakh is to be paid by a prospective buyer of the actor’s ancestral property, who also appeared before the court.

Court sets Oct 13 deadline

The court ruled that Yadav deposited the total Rs 2 crore by the specified deadline. It added that his plea challenging the High Court (HC) order would be considered after the payment was processed.

However, the SC bench also expressed displeasure over Yadav’s conduct and his repeated failure to comply with the payment directions delivered earlier. It warned that his existing three-month sentence could be extended to two years if he failed to honour the latest payment commitment.

Actor Yadav was convicted in seven cheque dishonour cases after failing to deposit Rs 5 crore with the Court Registry despite repeated orders. He was subsequently sentenced to three months of jail term and moved the Supreme Court challenging both his conviction and sentence.

The dispute has been underway for close to 16 years.

CJI enquires about Yadav’s film career

During the hearing, Yadav interacted with CJI Kant about his career and the financial woes he claimed to have faced over the years. The conversation also touched upon his 2012 film Ata Pata Laapata. CJI Kant asked the actor in Hindi, “Ajkal film kuch bana rahe ho ki aise hi ghoom rahe ho? (Are you engaged in making films or are simply loitering around).”

Yadav responded by greeting the Chief Justice and elaborated on his long-standing career in the film industry. He said he had featured in around 200-250 movies and claimed to have suffered losses of close to Rs 200-250 crore over the past 13 years.

He went on to say that Rs 17 crore of his money had been lost in Ata Pata Laapata.

Actor continues to appear in movies

Despite having faced financial woes during the hearing, Yadav has remained active in the Hindi film industry. Some of his recent projects include Welcome to the Jungle, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai and Bhooth Bangla.