Delhi HC upholds Rajpal Yadav’s conviction in cheque-bounce cases, awards jail term

The Delhi High Court upheld actor Rajpal Yadav's conviction in seven cheque-bounce cases, sentencing him to three months' imprisonment. The court also directed him to pay over ₹1 crore in each complaint, while adjusting nearly ₹2 crore already deposited

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday upheld the conviction of actor Rajpal Yadav in cheque-bounce cases and sentenced him to three months’ imprisonment.  Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma also directed Yadav to pay more than Rs 1 crore to the complainant in each of the seven complaints.The judge, however, clarified that around Rs 2 crore already paid by the actor shall be adjusted.

It also granted two months’ time to Yadav to approach the appellate court against the decision. A detailed copy of the judgement is awaited.

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The court’s proceedings came on revision petitions filed by Yadav and his wife challenging the 2019 decision of a sessions court, which upheld their conviction by a magisterial court in the cheque-bounce cases in April 2018.

The magisterial court had sentenced the actor to six months’ imprisonment. In June 2024, the high court temporarily suspended his conviction, subject to him adopting “sincere and genuine measures” to explore the possibility of reaching an amicable settlement with the opposite party.

At that time, Yadav’s counsel had said that it was a genuine transaction to finance the production of a movie, which bombed at the box office, resulting in huge financial losses to Yadav. However, on February 2, the court asked Yadav to surrender on February 4, observing that he repeatedly breached his undertakings to the court to repay the amount.

On February 16, the court suspended his sentence for the time being and permitted him to be released from jail after he deposited Rs 1.5 crore in the bank account of a complainant.