- Rajpal Yadav was granted interim bail by Delhi High Court in a financial dispute case
- Madhav Gopal Aggarwal loaned Rs 5 crore to Rajpal Yadav for the film Ata Pata Laapata
- Dispute began after a disagreement at the film's music launch involving Amitabh Bachchan
Actor Rajpal Yadav has been granted interim bail by the Delhi High Court in an ongoing financial dispute with businessman Madhav Gopal Aggarwal. His lawyer, Bhaskar Upadhyay, has now shared his side of the story and explained how the case began.
The lawyer, in a conversation with The Hindustan Times, stated that the turning point was a disagreement at the music launch of the film Ata Pata Laapata – and it involved Amitabh Bachchan.
How The Loan Deal Began
As per Bhaskar, Madhav Gopal Aggarwal had loaned Rs 5 crore to Rajpal Yadav for the film. An agreement was signed between the two parties. This was followed by three supplemental agreements until August 2012.
Under the last agreement, Rajpal had issued five cheques. These cheques were to be presented starting December 2012.
Everything seemed on track until the film's music launch event in September 2012.
The Music Launch Dispute
Bhaskar claimed that the legal trouble started after the event. He said that Amitabh Bachchan had agreed to attend the music launch. However, things did not go smoothly.
“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 shared.
According to him, the complainant later filed an undertaking to remove the stay on the film. In 2013, both parties entered into a consent agreement. Bhaskar said that this agreement made all previous agreements null and void.
Consent Decree And Fresh Terms
The lawyer further explained 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 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,” he shared.
An execution petition was filed the same year. Bhaskar said that Rs 1.90 crore was paid to the complainant.
For the remaining amount, another guarantor, Anant Dattaram, came forward.
Offer Of Surety And Refusal
Bhaskar claimed that the guarantor offered his property as security.
“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 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 shared.
He further alleged that another issue happened while the execution case was ongoing.
Revival Of Old Cheques
Bhaskar said, “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 Rs 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's team challenged the order in 2019. However, Bhaskar said there was a mistake during the revision proceedings.
“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 informed.
He added that because of this, the matter is still pending. The actor's team has now asked the court to hear their side fully and decide the case on merit.
For now, Rajpal Yadav has received interim bail. The legal battle, however, continues.
