With Rs 2 crore now deposited, the Supreme Court has sent the Rajpal Yadav cheque bounce dispute to mediation and let the actor apply for his passport so he can travel abroad for work.
New Delhi: Once the actor had deposited Rs 2 crore, the Supreme Court on Thursday referred to mediation the dispute over the balance amount in the long-running cheque dishonour cases against Rajpal Yadav, and permitted him to seek release of his passport on conditions to be set by the trial court [Rajpal Yadav v. Murli Projects Private Limited].
The parties agreed before a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi to settle what remains at the Supreme Court Mediation Centre. The Bench asked both sides to go into the process with an open mind.
“Amicably resolved”
The Court observed that Yadav had been “brought to the verge of selling your ancestral property only to get rid of this case”, and said, “We want that you amicably settle”. The order records:
the matter can be amicably resolved through mediation
Yadav may also seek release of his passport for professional travel abroad, with the trial court to fix the conditions.
Money advanced for a 2012 film
The cases go back to funds advanced for Yadav’s 2012 film Ata Pata Laapata. He and his wife received Rs 5 crore from Murli Projects Private Limited, and when the film missed its timelines the parties signed four agreements. The third gave Murli eight security cheques.
In his plea, Yadav describes a fourth, consent agreement dated April 21, 2013 as providing for the return of those cheques and four fresh cheques of Rs 10 crore each. He alleges that the eight cheques were never returned and that seven were presented and dishonoured, which led to criminal complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act against him and his wife. His argument is that the consent agreement made the earlier cheques invalid, so the complaints were not maintainable. These are contentions in his plea, and the complainant’s position is not reflected here.
A sessions court convicted Yadav in May 2024 and sentenced him to six months’ jail. The Delhi High Court suspended the sentence and referred the matter to its mediation centre, but later found that promised payments had not been made and directed him to surrender in February 2026. He surrendered on February 5, 2026 and was granted interim suspension of sentence after depositing Rs 1.5 crore with the complainant. The remaining amount was not deposited, and he was later sentenced to three months’ imprisonment. That order is now before the Supreme Court.
Deadlines in the Supreme Court
On September 8 the Court exempted Yadav from surrendering, subject to a deposit by September 9, and on September 15 it gave two more weeks and fixed October 5 as the deadline. When he appeared in person on October 7, he produced demand drafts totalling Rs 1.15 crore, and his counsel said a prospective buyer of his ancestral property would deposit a further Rs 85 lakh, bringing the total to Rs 2 crore. The Court accepted the plan to sell the property and directed that the balance be deposited by October 13.
What the order shows
Staged deposits and the prospect of custody brought the dispute to the table, and the Court moved it into mediation once real money had been paid. Section 138 cases are quasi-criminal, but the emphasis here is on a negotiated end that satisfies the complainant. What mediation produces, and any terms on the balance amount, are yet to be seen.
Case Title: Rajpal Yadav v. Murli Projects Private Limited [case number not reported]
Bench: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, Supreme Court of India
Date of Order: October 15, 2026
Appearances: counsel not reported