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Cheque bounce case: Delhi HC grants Rajpal Yadav interim relief till March 18
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma passed the order after noting that Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav deposited ₹1.5 crore in the bank account of complainant M/s Murali Projects Pvt Ltd
The Delhi High Court on Monday suspended Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav’s sentence in the cheque bounce cases till March 18 and permitted him to be released from jail.
A bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma allowed him to be released on bail, subject to depositing a bail bond of ₹1 lakh and furnishing a surety before the trial court.
The order came after the private firm, Messrs Murli Projects Private Limited, confirmed that it had received ₹1.5 crore towards the outstanding amount.
“Counsel for the respondent (Messrs Murli Projects Private Limited) states that the respondent has received an amount of 1.5 crore in the bank account. Considering the fact that the marriage of niece is to take place on 19th in Sahajanpur, UP and also considering that he has deposited 1.5 crore into the bank account, the court grants interim suspension of sentence till the next date of hearing, i.e. March 18,” the court said in the order.
The court issued the order while hearing Yadav’s plea seeking an interim suspension of his sentence to enable him to attend his niece’s wedding, scheduled for February 19 in Uttar Pradesh.
The application was preferred in the actor’s petition challenging the trial court’s January 2019 order, which 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 arose from a criminal complaint filed by the private firm, 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 Lapata’, with a commitment to repay ₹8 crore. However, he allegedly failed to honour this commitment.
The firm further claimed that, although the repayment was scheduled on three separate occasions and a settlement was later reached for a reduced amount of ₹7 crore, the seven cheques issued towards this settlement were dishonoured.
On February 2, the high court directed Yadav to surrender by February 4 and criticised him for repeatedly violating the undertakings he had given regarding payment of the settlement amount. It had also directed the release of ₹75 lakh in the private firm’s favour.
On February 5, the court declined to recall its order, observing that it could not extend special treatment to any individual merely because of their background or industry. This came despite Yadav stating that he was willing to furnish a demand draft of ₹25 lakh. After the high court declined his request, he subsequently surrendered.
In its order on Monday, the court also directed Yadav to appear either in person or through video conferencing to make further submissions regarding payment of the outstanding amount. This came after Yadav’s counsel, engaged following the February 5 order, submitted on Thursday that his client had been misguided by his previous lawyers.
