New Delhi, 10 July (H.S.):

The Delhi High Court has sentenced Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav to three months' imprisonment in a cheque bounce case. The order was passed by the Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma. The High Court had reserved its verdict on April 2.

During the proceedings, the Court attempted to facilitate a settlement between the two parties, but the efforts did not succeed.

Earlier, on February 16, the High Court had granted Rajpal Yadav interim bail until March 18. Prior to that, on February 5, the Court had declined to grant him any relief and directed him to surrender immediately, following which he surrendered before the authorities and was sent to jail.

Rajpal Yadav had originally been convicted and sentenced by the Karkardooma Court in a cheque bounce case. However, in June 2024, the Delhi High Court had suspended his sentence, observing that he was not a habitual offender.

Following his conviction, the Karkardooma Court had imposed a fine of ₹1.60 crore on Rajpal Yadav. His wife, Radha Yadav, was also fined ₹10 lakh in each case. The couple had been convicted in seven cases related to cheque dishonour.

According to the complainant, Murli Projects Private Limited, Rajpal Yadav approached the company in April 2010 seeking financial assistance to complete the film *Ata Pata Laapata*. On May 30, 2010, the two parties entered into an agreement under which the company extended a loan of ₹5 crore to Rajpal Yadav's production company.

As per the agreement, Rajpal Yadav was required to repay ₹8 crore, including interest. However, he failed to honour the repayment obligation. Subsequently, the agreement was renewed three times.

Under the final agreement, executed on August 9, 2012, Rajpal Yadav allegedly agreed to repay ₹11,10,60,350 to the complainant. However, his company again failed to make the payment, leading to the cheque bounce cases and the subsequent legal proceedings.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar