Counsel for the actor asked for a fortnight, saying the money was not immediately available but would be raised by selling property, and undertook to return with a draft of at least Rs 2 crore. The Chief Justice granted a last opportunity and listed the matter for October 5. The conviction is under challenge and the deposit goes to that process.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted actor Rajpal Yadav a last opportunity to come back with a concrete proposal to deposit money in cases arising from the dishonour of seven cheques, in which he stands convicted, and has listed the matter for October 5.
The plea was heard by a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana.
What happened in court
Counsel for the actor sought time, submitting that his client did not have the money immediately but intended to make the required deposit. He told the Court that Rajpal Yadav had some property and that, if the matter were taken up after two weeks, the payment would be arranged, adding that an application to that effect had been filed. It was also submitted that his mother owns immovable property which he proposes to sell in order to raise the funds.
Pressing for a fortnight as a last chance, counsel undertook to return with a concrete proposal, including a draft of at least Rs 2 crore.
The Chief Justice granted the request in brief terms, describing it as the last opportunity and directing that the matter be listed on October 5.
The background
The proceedings arise under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, which makes the dishonour of a cheque for insufficiency of funds a criminal offence. The matter before the Supreme Court concerns seven such cases in which the actor has been convicted, and it has travelled up after a series of orders in the Delhi High Court through the course of the year.
In the High Court, the actor surrendered to custody in February, obtained a suspension of sentence, and was later ordered back to jail after the Court found that he had failed to clear the outstanding despite repeated opportunities, with the sentence in one set of matters recorded as three months. The recurring theme across those orders was the actor’s failure to make good the amounts due within the time the courts allowed.
A characteristic feature of the Section 138 jurisdiction explains why so much of the litigation has turned on money rather than guilt. The offence is quasi-civil in nature, and appellate courts routinely condition the suspension of a sentence, or further indulgence, on the deposit of a portion of the cheque amount, since the provision exists to secure the payee rather than only to punish. That is the framework within which the request for time, and the undertaking to bring a draft of at least Rs 2 crore, must be read.
Why it matters
The order of the day is short and procedural, but the pattern it continues is the point of interest. Across the year, the actor has repeatedly sought and received time to arrange payment, and courts have repeatedly noted that the money did not follow. The Chief Justice’s use of the phrase last opportunity, and the specific direction to return with an actual draft rather than a further assurance, signals that the Court expects performance and not another request for accommodation on October 5.
For readers, the distinction worth keeping in view is between the conviction and the deposit. The deposit the actor has undertaken to bring is a condition attached to his continued liberty and to the hearing of his challenge; it is not itself a determination of the appeal. What the Court will consider on the next date is whether the promised proposal materialises, and the fate of the challenge will turn on that as much as on the merits.
Nothing was decided on the substance of the cases on Monday. The Court granted time and fixed a date.
Case: Plea filed by Rajpal Yadav in connection with seven cheque dishonour cases in which he stands convicted
Bench: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana, Supreme Court of India
Date of Hearing: September 15, 2026 | Next Listed: October 5, 2026
Status: Last opportunity granted to file a concrete deposit proposal, including a draft of at least Rs 2 crore. No finding recorded on the merits of the challenge.
