The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav two more weeks to deposit ₹5 crore with the Court registry in connection with a cheque-bounce case, while making it clear that his past conduct did not inspire confidence.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana granted the extension as a “last opportunity” to comply with its earlier order requiring Yadav to deposit the amount to avoid surrendering to custody.
“He is an actor in Bollywood. We hope he is not acting here also. His past conduct does not inspire confidence.”
The Court directed that the exemption earlier granted to Yadav from surrendering would continue until October 5. It also directed him to submit his passport to the Court for the time being.
The Supreme Court had on September 8 exempted Yadav from surrendering, subject to his depositing ₹5 crore by September 9.
Appearing for Yadav, Senior Advocate P S Patwalia sought another two weeks to comply with the direction.
“He has already suffered jail time—about four and a half months. Kindly give him two weeks. Kindly call it after two weeks. I will try to comply,”
the senior counsel submitted.
The Court granted the request but made it clear that this would be the last opportunity.
The dispute arises from approximately ₹5 crore received by Yadav and his wife from Murli Projects Pvt Ltd in connection with a film being produced by the actor.
The parties entered into four agreements after the film could not be completed within the stipulated timelines.
Under the third agreement, Yadav issued eight security cheques to Murli Projects. According to Yadav, the subsequent fourth agreement, described as a consent agreement dated April 21, 2013, provided for the return of those eight cheques and issuance of four fresh cheques of ₹10 crore each.
Yadav has alleged that Murli Projects did not return the original security cheques and instead presented seven of them, which were dishonoured.
This resulted in criminal complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.
In May 2024, a sessions court convicted Yadav and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment.
The Delhi High Court subsequently suspended his sentence after his counsel assured the Court that the dispute would be settled. The matter was also referred to the Delhi High Court Mediation Centre.
However, the High Court later noted that despite repeated assurances and adjournments, Yadav had failed to make promised payments.
The High Court eventually directed him to surrender. Yadav surrendered on February 5, 2026 and remained in custody until the High Court granted an interim suspension of his sentence after he deposited ₹1.5 crore with the complainant.
The High Court subsequently imposed a further three-month imprisonment after finding that the remaining amount had not been deposited despite several undertakings.
Yadav has now challenged the proceedings before the Supreme Court.
His plea contends that the subsequent consent agreement rendered the earlier security cheques invalid and, consequently, the complaints based on those cheques were not maintainable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.
For now, the Supreme Court has given Yadav until October 5 to comply with the ₹5 crore deposit requirement, while continuing his exemption from surrender.
Case: Rajpal Naurang Yadav & Anr. v. M/S Murli Projects Pvt. Ltd.
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