The Delhi High Court sentenced actor Rajpal Yadav to three months’ simple imprisonment in seven cheque bounce cases for repeatedly breaching settlement undertakings. The Court also directed him to pay Rs 7.35 crore in compensation, while his wife was fined over Rs 5 lakh in each case.
The Delhi High Court sentenced Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav to three months’ simple imprisonment in a series of cheque bounce cases after finding that he repeatedly failed to honour settlement commitments and undertakings given before the Court.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma pronounced the judgment in a batch of seven criminal cases filed by M/s Murli Projects Private Limited under the provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, which criminalises the dishonour of cheques issued towards legally enforceable debts or liabilities.
While awarding the sentence, the High Court directed that the three-month imprisonment imposed in each of the seven cases would run concurrently, meaning Yadav will serve a total of three months’ imprisonment instead of separate consecutive sentences.
Apart from the jail term, the Court also directed the actor to pay Rs 1.05 crore in compensation in each of the seven cases, amounting to Rs 7.35 crore. His wife, Radha Rajpal Yadav, who was also facing proceedings in the matter, was ordered to pay a fine exceeding Rs 5 lakh in each case.
While pronouncing the sentence, Justice Sharma observed that the Court had shown considerable indulgence by granting Rajpal Yadav multiple opportunities to resolve the dispute amicably and comply with the settlement terms.
Despite repeated assurances made by both the actor and his legal counsel, the promised payments were never fully made.
The Court observed,
“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,”
Recognising that the order could be challenged before a higher forum, Justice Sharma granted Yadav two months’ time to avail his legal remedies before the sentence is executed.
The litigation originated from multiple cheque bounce complaints filed by M/s Murli Projects Private Limited, alleging that cheques issued by Rajpal Yadav towards discharge of financial liabilities had been dishonoured due to insufficient funds.
Under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, dishonour of a cheque issued towards repayment of a legally enforceable debt constitutes a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment, fine, or both. The dispute eventually resulted in the filing of seven separate criminal complaints against the actor.
The present proceedings before the Delhi High Court trace their origins to an order passed by a sessions court in May 2024, which had convicted Rajpal Yadav in one of the cheque bounce cases and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment. Following the conviction, Yadav approached the Delhi High Court seeking suspension of his sentence.
At that stage, his counsel assured the Court that the parties were willing to amicably resolve the financial dispute. Taking note of these submissions, the High Court suspended the sentence and referred the matter to the Delhi High Court Mediation Centre to facilitate a negotiated settlement.
Despite the mediation process and repeated opportunities granted by the Court, the settlement failed to materialise. The High Court repeatedly adjourned the proceedings after Yadav assured the Bench that payments would be made in accordance with the agreed settlement.
However, the Court later found that the actor had failed to deposit even those amounts that he himself had undertaken to pay. One of the major commitments made before the Court involved payment of Rs 2.5 crore, which Yadav had sought permission to deposit in instalments. Despite securing time from the Court on that basis, the promised payments were not made.
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In February 2026, after recording repeated instances of non-compliance, the Delhi High Court directed Rajpal Yadav to surrender before the jail authorities. The actor subsequently sought additional time to surrender, but the Court declined to extend the deadline.
Eventually, Yadav surrendered before the prison authorities on February 5, where he remained in judicial custody. He was later granted interim suspension of sentence after depositing Rs 1.5 crore with the complainant company. However, the Court noted that even after securing interim relief, Yadav failed to deposit the balance amount despite furnishing several undertakings before the Court.
The High Court observed that repeated assurances given during the proceedings had remained unfulfilled, leaving the Court with little option but to proceed with sentencing. The Court concluded that despite receiving adequate opportunities to comply with the settlement and honour his commitments, Yadav failed to discharge his obligations.
Accordingly, Justice Sharma sentenced the actor to three months’ simple imprisonment in each of the seven cheque bounce cases, with all sentences to run concurrently.
In addition to the custodial sentence, the Court directed him to pay Rs 1.05 crore in each case, while imposing separate monetary penalties upon his wife, Radha Rajpal Yadav. The High Court has, however, granted the actor two months’ time to challenge the judgment before an appellate court, thereby allowing him an opportunity to seek appropriate legal relief against the conviction and sentence.
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