NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court sentenced actor Rajpal Yadav to three months in jail on Friday. The case involves cheque bounce complaints. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma announced the verdict. She ruled on seven cases filed against Yadav by M/s Murli Projects Private Limited.
The court gave Yadav three months of simple imprisonment. This applies to each of the seven cases. But the sentences will run at the same time, not one after another. So Yadav effectively serves three months total, not twenty-one.
The court also ordered Yadav to pay ₹1.05 crore in each of the seven cases. That adds up to a large sum across all cases combined.
His wife, Radha Rajpal Yadav, faces her own penalty. The court ordered her to pay more than ₹5 lakh in each case as a fine.
Justice Sharma explained her reasoning during the hearing. She said the court gave Yadav many chances to keep his word and settle his debt. He did not use those chances well.
The judge noted that Yadav and his lawyer made repeated statements and promises in court. Despite these assurances, he never followed through on settlement terms he agreed to.
She granted him two months to appeal the ruling before a higher court.
This is not Yadav’s first brush with jail time over this matter. A sessions court had convicted him back in May 2024. That court gave him six months in jail for cheque bounce.
The High Court stepped in after that ruling. It suspended his sentence when his lawyer assured the court that a settlement would happen. The dispute even went to the Delhi High Court Mediation Centre for resolution.
That effort did not work out as planned. The court later found that Yadav kept seeking adjournments and making promises, but the payments never came through.
Yadav had asked for permission to pay ₹2.5 crore in instalments. The court allowed this arrangement. But he never deposited the amount he had committed to.
Things came to a head in February 2026. The High Court ordered Yadav to surrender before jail authorities. This happened because he failed to follow court’s earlier directions.
Yadav tried to get more time before surrendering. He filed a plea seeking an extension. The court rejected this request.
He surrendered on February 5. He stayed in jail for period after that. The High Court eventually granted him an interim suspension of his sentence. This came after he deposited ₹1.5 crore with complainant company.
Agencies