In a definitive turn in a decade-long legal saga, the Delhi High Court has upheld the conviction of veteran Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav in a series of cheque-bounce cases. On July 10, 2026, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma dismissed the actor’s revision petitions, sentencing him to three months of simple imprisonment in each of the seven cases, with all sentences to run concurrently.
The legal battle traces back to 2010, when Rajpal Yadav and his wife, Radha Yadav, secured a loan of ₹5 crore from Delhi-based financier Madhav Gopal Agarwal’s firm, M/s Murli Projects Private Limited. The funds were intended to finance Yadav’s directorial debut, the musical satire Aata Pata Laapata (2012). Following the film’s commercial failure at the box office, Yadav defaulted on repayments. The initial debt, compounded by years of interest and legal penalties, eventually ballooned to nearly ₹9 crore.
In 2018, a Magisterial Court originally convicted the actor and his wife, sentencing them to six months in jail. This verdict was upheld by a Sessions Court in 2019, leading Yadav to approach the High Court.
During the final proceedings, the Delhi High Court expressed profound dissatisfaction with the actor’s conduct. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma noted that Yadav had been granted multiple opportunities and considerable leniency to settle the dispute amicably. Despite various undertakings given to the court—including promises to pay in instalments—Yadav repeatedly defaulted.
“I am not getting my answers. The undertaking said something else and now you are saying something else,” Justice Sharma remarked during the hearing, cautioning that a judge’s kindness should never be mistaken for weakness. The court ultimately declined Yadav’s plea for probation, citing his failure to honour his financial commitments as a significant factor in the decision.
Beyond the prison sentence, the Court has imposed substantial financial penalties on the actor:
- Restitution: Yadav has been directed to pay approximately ₹1.05 crore in each of the seven cases to the complainant, alongside an additional fine of ₹1.04 crore and ₹25,000 payable to the State.
- Wife’s Liability: His wife, Radha Yadav, faces a similar court-ordered financial obligation of over ₹5.51 crore in each case.
- Adjustments: The Court clarified that the approximately ₹2.25 crore already deposited by the actor during the pendency of the litigation will be adjusted against the final liability.
While the court upheld the jail term, it granted Rajpal Yadav a window of two months to approach a higher appellate court to challenge the verdict.
This ruling is the latest in a series of financial challenges for the actor. His legal troubles have also extended to other ventures, including a recent attachment of his ancestral property in Shahjahanpur by the Central Bank of India regarding a separate production-related loan. As Rajpal Yadav faces the immediate prospect of imprisonment, this case serves as a stark reminder of the rigorous standards the judiciary applies to financial undertakings and the serious consequences of contractual non-compliance in the eyes of the law.
