New Delhi, July 10: The Delhi High Court upheld the conviction of Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav in a series of cheque-bounce cases, handing him a three-month prison sentence. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma ordered the actor to pay over Rs 1 crore to the complainant for each of the seven separate complaints filed against him. While affirming the conviction originally handed down by lower courts, the judge modified the terms, granting Yadav a two-month window to appeal the decision before a higher appellate court.
This latest ruling modifies a harsher six-month jail term originally handed down by a magisterial court in April 2018, which was later supported by a sessions court in 2019. In the final decree, Justice Sharma clarified that the financial burden would be mitigated by previous payments, noting that around Rs 2 crore already paid by the actor would be adjusted against the final sum. The final detailed copy of the judgment remains awaited as legal teams prepare their next steps.
The legal battle stems from a film production dispute that dates back several years. Defending the actor’s actions during earlier proceedings, Yadav’s counsel stated 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.
The couple had challenged the previous convictions through revision petitions, leading to a turbulent timeline of temporary relief and sudden arrests. The high court had temporarily suspended his conviction in June 2024 on the condition that he make sincere efforts to settle with the complainant. However, the court later discovered that the actor repeatedly breached his undertakings to the court to repay the amount. This led to a surrender order in February, though Yadav secured a temporary suspension of that sentence days later by depositing Rs 1.5 crore into a complainant’s bank account.
