Rajpal Yadav Sentenced To Three Months In Cheque Bounce Cases By Delhi High Court

Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav has been sentenced to simple imprisonment of three months by the Delhi High Court, which upheld his conviction in seven linked cheque bounce cases.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma dismissed the revision petitions filed by the actor and observed that the court has been very lenient and given several opportunities to clear the dues, but Yadav kept on defaulting on his legal obligations.

The legal fight for ₹9 crore

The financial saga has been in the making since 2010 when Yadav took an initial loan of ₹5 crore from M/s Murli Projects Private Limited to fund his directorial project, Ata Pata Laapata.

The box office was very poor, so there was a huge financial crunch. Yadav issued post-dated cheques to repay the loan, which bounced repeatedly. Over the years, the debt, including interest and penalties, ballooned to nearly ₹9 crore.

Severe Financial Penalties Levied

The court ordered that Yadav’s three-month prison sentences in each of the seven cases will be served concurrently (meaning he faces a total of three months behind bars) but imposed heavy financial fines:

Actor’s Fines Yadav was also fined a total of more than ₹7.3 crore, including an amount of ₹1.05 crore each for the seven complaints.

Wife’s penalty: The court also ordered wife Radha Yadav to pay Rs 5.51 lakh as a fine per complaint case.

Adjustment Of Previous Payments: The bench said the actor had already paid the sum of ₹2.25 crore during the prolonged litigation and said the sum would be adjusted against the final amount payable.

The Jail Alternative: If Yadav doesn’t pay these hefty fines, he will have to spend another six months in jail.

“I’d rather go to jail than pay.”

The High Court has specifically declined to exercise its discretion to give Yadav any relief or place him on probation in view of his poor behavioural conduct in the court proceedings.

His sentence was suspended several times earlier by the court on his solemn assurance to clear the dues. The bench, however, showed its displeasure at Yadav having completely gone back on his commitments to settle during the last stages of the trial and openly saying in court that he would rather "go to jail five times" than pay a single penny.

"Needless to state that in case a litigant wants to choose the path of imprisonment rather than to abide by multiple undertakings given by him in the court, it is entirely his choice,” Justice Sharma observed. The courts expect fairness and respect for the judicial process from every litigant, he added.

The High Court has given Rajpal Yadav two months’ time to comply with the order or challenge the sentence in the Supreme Court, which means he will not be immediately taken into custody.