Delhi HC again refuses relief to Rajpal Yadav, orders surrender in cheque bounce case

Following the court’s refusal to grant relief, Yadav agreed to surrender immediately and proceed to Tihar jail.

The Delhi high court on Thursday refused to recall its order directing Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav to surrender before the jail superintendent to serve his six-month sentence in cheque bounce cases, after he failed to comply with earlier directions of the court.

Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav. (PTI File)

On February 2, the HC had ordered Yadav to surrender by February 4, sharply criticising him for repeatedly breaching undertakings given to the court to pay the settlement amount. On Wednesday, the court declined to grant him any further time and directed him to surrender by 4pm the same day. Yadav, however, did not comply with the direction.

On Thursday, Yadav appeared in person before a bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma along with his counsels Abhijat and Aman Malik, seeking a recall of the surrender order. He submitted that he was willing to immediately pay ₹25 lakh and clear the remaining amount later, urging the court not to send him to jail.

The court rejected the plea, making it clear that surrender was non-negotiable. “You first surrender, then we will see,” justice Sharma told the actor, adding that the question of payment could be considered only after he complied with the order.

Following the court’s refusal to grant relief, Yadav agreed to surrender immediately and proceed to Tihar jail.

The order was passed while hearing Yadav’s petition challenging a January 2019 order of the trial court, which had upheld a metropolitan magistrate’s 2018 decision convicting him and his wife under Section 138 (dishonour of cheque) of the Negotiable Instruments Act and sentencing them to six months’ imprisonment.

The conviction stemmed from a criminal complaint filed by Messrs Murli Projects Private Limited, which alleged that Yadav had taken a loan of ₹5 crore in 2010 for the production of the film Ata Pata Laapata, with an undertaking to repay ₹8 crore. The firm claimed that Yadav failed to honour the commitment.

According to the complaint, repayment was scheduled on three occasions, and a later settlement reduced the amount to ₹7 crore. However, the firm alleged that all seven cheques issued towards this settlement were dishonoured, leading to the criminal proceedings.