Indian actor Rajpal Yadav has been sentenced to jail in a long-running cheque bounce case. The Delhi High Court ordered three months’ imprisonment in each of seven cases, with the sentences running together rather than one after another.
Court documents show the actor must pay INR10.5 million in each of the seven cases, along with INR25,000 to the state. The judges have given him two months to appeal if he wants to challenge the decision.
Reports say Yadav has already paid INR 22.5 million, which will be subtracted from the total amount he still owes. The court also warned him that if he failed to pay the full amount, he could face an additional six months’ imprisonment.
The case goes back many years. In 2010, a company called Murli Projects Private Limited gave Yadav a loan of INR 50 million to help fund his film Ata Pata Laapata. The movie did poorly at the box office, and Yadav could not repay the loan on time.
Because of this unpaid debt, his property was seized in 2024. Earlier this year, in February, he was jailed for a few days before being released after paying part of the amount.
Speaking earlier about the case, Yadav said the matter was not just about money. He described it as “a larger issue and a matter of principle.”
For now, the case is still open to appeal, and Yadav has the chance to fight the verdict in court.
