Supreme Court allows Rajpal Yadav interim relief in cheque-bounce case, asks Rs 5 crore deposit

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted actor Rajpal Yadav a conditional reprieve from surrendering in a cheque-bounce case, directing him to deposit Rs 5 crore with the court registry by Wednesday. The order provides interim relief from the Delhi High Court's mandate that he surrender by September 10 to serve a three-month sentence.

The case stems from seven complaints filed by Murli Projects Pvt Ltd, a film producer-financier, over dishonoured cheques linked to the financing of the film Ata Pata Lapata. Yadav, his wife Radha Rajpal Yadav, and their production company were convicted in April 2018 by a trial court, which initially imposed six-month sentences and fines of Rs 1.60 crore per case. In May 2019, the sentence was reduced to three months' simple imprisonment with a fine of Rs 1.35 crore in each case, to run concurrently.

The Delhi High Court upheld the conviction on July 10, rejecting Yadav's plea for probation. The court noted that Yadav had made multiple undertakings to pay the complainant but failed to honour them, and that only about Rs 2.25 crore had been paid during the proceedings. It directed that this amount be adjusted against the fine.

Yadav's legal challenge before the Supreme Court argues that a subsequent settlement agreement in April 2013, which involved a full and final settlement of Rs 10.40 crore, should have rendered the original complaints unsustainable. His plea cites the Supreme Court's judgment in Gimpex Pvt Ltd v. Manoj Goel to support the contention that a settlement subsumes earlier complaints.

The Supreme Court bench, headed by the Chief Justice, issued a conditional notice on Yadav's plea and listed the matter for further hearing on September 15. Yadav must deposit the Rs 5 crore with the registry by September 9 to avail the exemption from surrender.