Rajpal Yadav sentenced to jail in cheque bounce case; Delhi High Court denies probation

Actor Rajpal Yadav has suffered a major legal setback after the Delhi High Court upheld his conviction in multiple cheque bounce cases, sentencing him to three months' imprisonment in each of the seven cases. According to PTI, the sentences will run concurrently, and the Court has given the actor two months to approach an appellate court if he wishes to challenge the verdict.

Along with the prison sentence, the Delhi High Court imposed significant financial liabilities on the actor. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma ordered Rajpal Yadav to pay Rs 1.05 crore to the complainant in each of the seven cases. He must also pay an additional Rs 1.04 crore to the complainant and Rs 25,000 to the State. Live Law reported that the Court further directed Yadav's wife, Radha Yadav, to pay Rs 5.51 crore to the complainant in every case. The bench, however, said the Rs 2.25 crore already deposited by the actor would be deducted from the final amount payable.

The Court also declined Yadav's request for probation. ANI reported that the judge took note of his conduct throughout the litigation, including repeated breaches of assurances given to the Court, while deciding against granting him any relief.

During the proceedings, Justice Sharma expressed dissatisfaction with the actor's explanations, pointing to contradictions between earlier undertakings and his current submissions. "I am not getting my answers. The undertaking said something else and now you are saying something else," the judge observed, before adding, "Never think the judge weak if the judge is nice to you."

Advocate Avnish Sikka, representing Murli Projects Pvt. Ltd., told ANI that all of Yadav's revision petitions had been dismissed and that the trial court's order had been upheld in full. He added that the High Court directed the actor to undergo three months' imprisonment, with all sentences running concurrently, while also refusing probation after considering his repeated violations of undertakings given to the Court. The High Court further warned that failure to pay the fine imposed by the trial court would result in an additional six months of imprisonment.

The legal dispute traces back to 2010, when Murli Projects Pvt. Ltd. extended a loan of Rs 5 crore to Yadav for the production of his film Ata Pata Laapata. After the film underperformed at the box office, the repayment dispute escalated into multiple cheque dishonour cases.

The Delhi High Court had earlier suspended Yadav's sentence after he assured the Court that he would settle the dues. However, those assurances, including a proposed Rs 2.5 crore instalment payment, were not fulfilled. In February 2026, the Court directed him to surrender after finding that he had failed to comply with its earlier directions. Yadav surrendered on February 5 and spent several days in custody before securing interim relief after depositing Rs 1.5 crore.

In interviews, the actor had earlier pushed back against the perception that his imprisonment was simply due to non-repayment. "I was not jailed because I didn’t have money. It was about a larger issue and a matter of principle,” he said.

Yadav further argued that if the matter had been limited to Rs 5 crores, it would have been resolved years earlier. “Ye Rs 5 crores ka masla hota to 2012 me nipat ta. Iss Rs 5 crores ne Rs 17 crores ko dubane ka kaam kiya hai,” (If it had been about Rs 5 crore, then it would have been sorted in 2012 itself. The Rs 5 crore ballooned into Rs 17 crore), he said, claiming the dispute eventually ballooned into losses estimated between Rs 17 and Rs 22 crores.

He also added on the troubled production journey of Ata Pata Laapata, stating that a significant portion of the film had already been completed before complications emerged.