The trouble for Rajpal Yadav in the cheque bounce case doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. On Friday, the Delhi High Court not only upheld his conviction in the cheque bounce case but also imposed a hefty fine on the actor.
Rajpal fined over ₹1 crore in each case
As per Bar and Bench, the Delhi High Court gave no relief to Rajpal Yadav in the case and even termed his conduct as “dubious”. The court directed the authorities to send him back to jail. in each of the seven cases but added that the sentences would run concurrently. The court also ordered Yadav to pay ₹1.05 crore in each case. His wife, Radha Rajpal Yadav, was ordered to pay a fine of over ₹5 lakh in each case.
According to the court, Yadav had given multiple undertakings assuring payment of the amount involved in the case but failed to honour them despite being granted repeated opportunities. The court, however, kept the operation of its verdict on hold for two months to enable the actor to approach a higher court in appeal.
“Opportunities were granted to honour the settlement. He [Yadav] and his counsel made several statements and assurances, and despite these repeated opportunities and assurances, he failed to honour the undertakings,” the court observed, Bar and Bench reported.
About Rajpal Yadav’s case
Back in 2010, Rajpal Yadav had borrowed ₹5 crore from M/s Murali Projects Pvt Ltd for his directorial debut film, Ata Pata Laapata. However, the film turned out to be a box office flop. Rajpal’s failure to clear the dues, coupled with the accumulating interest, increased the outstanding amount to nearly ₹9 crore. This eventually led to a prolonged legal battle.
During a previous hearing, Yadav’s counsel informed the court that approximately ₹4.25 crore had already been paid to the complainant.
In 2018, a magistrate court convicted Rajpal and his wife, Radha, in the case and sentenced him to six months in jail. In 2019, the sessions court upheld the conviction, following which Yadav approached the Delhi High Court in appeal. In June 2024, the High Court temporarily suspended his sentence and directed him to take “sincere and genuine measures” to repay the nearly ₹9 crore dues. However, on February 2, the court ordered him to surrender. He surrendered on February 5 and remained in custody for a few days. Later that month, Rajpal was granted interim bail after depositing ₹1.5 crore.
During this difficult phase, several Bollywood celebrities had extended their support to Rajpal, including Sonu Sood, Ajay Devgn, Salman Khan and Gurmeet Choudhary.