The Supreme Court directed actor Rajpal Yadav to deposit ₹5 crore with its Registry by Wednesday to stay out of jail.
A bench led by the Chief Justice issued a conditional notice on Yadav’s plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s conviction order.
The Delhi High Court had previously dismissed his criminal revision petitions and directed him to surrender by September 10.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed actor Rajpal Yadav to deposit ₹5 crore with its Registry by Wednesday as a condition for exempting him from surrendering to serve his sentence in a cheque-bounce case involving film producer-financier Murli Projects Pvt Ltd, reported Live Law.
Supreme Court gives Rajpal Yadav conditional relief
The bench issued conditional notice on Yadav's challenge. His plea questions the Delhi High Court's July 10 ruling, which affirmed his conviction and three-month prison term across seven cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. Hearing on the matter will resume on September 15.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana passed the order after Yadav’s plea was orally mentioned. The Delhi High Court had earlier asked the actor to surrender by September 10 after dismissing his criminal revision petitions against the conviction and sentence.
About Rajpal Yadav cheque-bounce case
Seven separate legal complaints triggered the dispute. Murli Projects accused Yadav, his wife Radha Rajpal Yadav and their production firm after seven cheques bounced during the financing of their movie Ata Pata Lapata.
The issue originated in 2010. Yadav took a loan of ₹5 crore from M/s Murali Projects Pvt Ltd to fund his directorial debut, Ata Pata Laapata.
The movie flopped at the box office. Unsettled liabilities alongside mounting interest drove the total debt to nearly ₹9 crore, triggering prolonged litigation. In an earlier hearing, Yadav's counsel said the actor had already remitted around ₹4.25 crore to the complainant.
The legal dispute wound through multiple courts. A magistrate court found Rajpal and his wife Radha guilty in 2018, handing the actor a six-month prison term. A sessions court affirmed the decision in 2019, prompting Yadav to appeal before the Delhi High Court.
The Delhi High Court intervened in June 2024. It put his jail term on hold while instructing him to take “sincere and genuine measures" to clear the nearly ₹9 crore debt.
That relief did not settle the dispute. In February, after he failed to clear the dues, Yadav surrendered and was sent to Tihar Jail. He later got interim bail on February 16 after depositing ₹1.5 crore, following confirmation from the complainant’s lawyer.
The Delhi High Court stated that authorities could not return him to jail even after setting aside the prior interim direction. Yadav subsequently asked for a 30-day window to raise the borrowed funds, but the bench turned down his plea and held its judgment.
