Rajpal Yadav has been granted interim bail by the Delhi High Court and released from Tihar Jail in a case filed against him by businessman Madhav Gopal Aggarwal. His lawyer, Bhaskar Upadhyay, now shared that the case originally started due to an incident connected to actor Amitabh Bachchan.
Rajpal Yadav received loan for ‘Ata Pata Laapata’
According to Bhaskar, businessman Madhav had given Rajpal Yadav a loan of Rs 5 crores to make his film ‘Ata Pata Laapata’. The two had signed a main agreement followed by three additional ones until August 2012. The final deal stated that Rajpal would issue five cheques, to be cleared from December 2012. But the situation took a legal turn after the film’s music launch in September 2012, which eventually led to the ongoing case.
Rajpal Yadav’s lawyer reveals complainant wanted to share stage with Amitabh Bachchan
In conversation with Hindustan Times, Bhaskar shares, “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”.
Rajpal Yadav and Madhav signed consent agreement in 2013
The lawyer stated that Madhav later submitted an undertaking requesting the removal of the stay on the film, after which both parties signed a consent agreement in 2013, declaring all previous agreements null and void. Bhaskar revealed that a fresh consent decree was passed in 2016 and as per law, it is unchallengeable by either parties. The amount of Rs 10.40 crores 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.
Rajpal Yadav’s guarantor offered property worth Rs 15 crores
In 2016, an execution petition was filed, and ₹1.90 crores were paid to the complainant. For the remaining balance, another guarantor, Mr. Anant Dattaram, stepped in — documents confirming this are with HT City. However, the complainant refused to accept the guarantee. Bhaskar shared that he offered his property valued at Rs 15 crores 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’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.
Rajpal Yadav convicted and fined Rs 11.5 crores
However, an unusual situation arose during the proceedings. “While the execution case was going on, the complainant revived the cheques from the third supplementary agreement which was to be nulled after the consent agreement. In March 2018, based on that old agreement, the trial court convicted Rajpal ji and issued a fine of ₹11.5 crores. And then in November 2018, the execution court sentenced Rajpal ji to three month imprisonment for the same cause of action. But both can’t go parallel.”
Rajpal Yadav challenges order in revision court
In 2019, Yadav’s team took the matter to the revision court to challenge the earlier ruling. However, when a new lawyer joined the case, things took an unexpected turn. “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 shared. He further mentioned that this development caused the case to remain unresolved, and the team has now requested the court to hear their arguments and decide the matter on its merits.
