New Delhi, Oct 15 — The Supreme Court on Thursday referred the cheque dishonour cases against actor and comedian Rajpal Yadav and his wife to mediation, directing the parties to explore the possibility of an amicable settlement over the outstanding amount payable to the complainant.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order after Yadav’s counsel informed the apex court that the remaining Rs 85 lakh had been deposited with the apex court registry on October 13, taking the total deposit to Rs 2 crore.
The CJI-led Bench asked the parties to approach the Supreme Court Mediation Centre with an open mind and make an endeavour to arrive at an amicable settlement.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court observed that Yadav had earlier agreed to sell his ancestral property to arrange the payment and said that an amicable settlement should be explored before the matter proceeded further.
Counsel appearing for Yadav and the complainant, Murli Projects Private Limited, agreed to the proposal for mediation.
Recording the agreement, the bench ordered: "It seems that the matter can be amicably resolved through mediation and consequently, the parties are referred to mediation before the Supreme Court Mediation Centre."
It also permitted Yadav to seek the release of his passport for professional travel abroad, subject to the conditions imposed by the trial court.
The latest order came after the Supreme Court had, on October 7, directed Yadav to deposit Rs 1.15 crore immediately, with the remaining Rs 85 lakh to be arranged through a prospective buyer of his ancestral property, as part of the proposed payment of Rs 2 crore.
At the time, the CJI-led Bench had expressed displeasure over Yadav’s failure to comply with its earlier directions and indicated that it was inclined to enhance his three-month imprisonment sentence to two years.
The top court had granted Yadav a final opportunity to arrange the payment after finding that its earlier directions had not been complied with.
The Supreme Court is hearing petitions filed by Yadav and his wife, Radha Yadav, challenging the Delhi High Court judgment upholding their conviction in seven cheque dishonour cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
The Delhi High Court had, on July 10, upheld the actor’s conviction while reducing his sentence from six months to three months’ simple imprisonment in each of the seven cases. It had also reduced the fine from Rs 1.60 crore to Rs 1.05 crore in each case, with the substantive sentences directed to run concurrently.
The High Court had taken into account payments already made by Yadav to Murli Projects Private Limited during the pendency of the proceedings.
Before the Supreme Court, Yadav and his wife have contended that a subsequent consent agreement between the parties was not properly considered by the courts below. They have relied on the apex court’s judgment in M/s Gimpex Private Limited v. Manoj Goel, arguing that the subsequent agreement ought to have brought an end to the original complaint proceedings.