Actor Rajpal Yadav has been at the centre of a legal storm after being sent to Tihar Jail in connection with a ₹9 crore debt and cheque bounce case.
In a recent development, the actor secured relief from the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, which extended his interim bail until April 1. Now, it is being revealed that the actor is preparing to fight the case legally, choosing to argue the matter in court instead of going for a settlement.
Rajpal Yadav wants to argue
On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court said it will not send the actor to jail for now, as he had made substantial payments to the complainant in the cheque bounce cases against him. The court declined to vacate its earlier order granting an interim suspension of sentence to Rajpal Yadav in cheque-bouncing cases and extended the relief till April 1.
Following the hearing, Rajpal Yadav’s lawyer, SK Sharma, addressed the media outside the court and shed light on the actor’s strategy for the next hearing. He revealed that Rajpal is not inclined towards a settlement and is instead gearing up to argue the case in court. The counsel also shared further details about the actor’s planned course of action moving forward.
Court ne Rajpal ji se pucha ke aapne samay samay pe kahan hai ke aap paise dena chahthe ho, toh aap settle kar rahe ho ya nahi? To Rajpal ji ne kaha ke ab settle nahi karna chahte, argument karne hai. Aur phir uski application de di. Ab uski argument hoi. Court ne April 1 ki date di hai (The court asked Rajpal ji that since he had earlier said at various times that he was willing to pay the money, whether he now intends to settle the matter or not. Rajpal ji responded that he no longer wishes to settle and wants to argue the case. Following this, an application was submitted. The court has now given the next date of hearing as April 1),” said the lawyer.
Meanwhile, Rajpal, in a statement after hearing in the Delhi High Court, said, “The next hearing is on April 1. I have complete faith in the judicial system of India. Dudh ka dudh aur pani ka pani nikalne ki puri koshish karenge. (We will try to dig out the truth).”
On Wednesday, a bench of justice Swarana Kanta Sharma ruled that the actor was not running away and was instead present in court and had also made “substantial payment” towards the default amount. “I don’t find any reason. He’s not running away. He’s here. He’s coming to court, and he has also been in jail. He’s already on bail; I’m not sending him to jail. He’s made some substantial payments. So I’ll not send him to jail, right now,” the bench said.
What do we know about the case
The case traces back to 2010, when Rajpal borrowed ₹5 crore from Delhi-based Murali Projects Pvt Ltd to fund his directorial debut, Ata Pata Laapata (2012). The film’s commercial failure led to heavy losses and a financial dispute. In 2018, a magisterial court convicted the actor for cheque dishonour under the Negotiable Instruments Act, sentencing him to six months’ imprisonment – a decision upheld by a sessions court in 2019. The amount due eventually rose to nearly ₹9 crore.
Rajpal was granted interim bail and was released from jail on February 16. The Delhi High Court granted interim bail to the actor till March 18. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma granted Rajpal interim bail, subject to his depositing ₹1 lakh as bail bond and furnishing one surety. Earlier in the hearing, the court had ordered Rajpal to deposit ₹1.5 crore by 3 PM for interim bail. After the lawyer of the complainant, M/S Murli Project, confirmed that the actor had deposited the amount in the company’s bank accounts against the bounced cheque amount, the bail was granted.
Since the case came into light, several celebrities, including Sonu Sood and Mika Singh, have stepped forward to support him.