The Delhi High Court on Monday granted interim bail to Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav in a cheque bounce case after his counsel informed the court that Rs 1.5 crore has been deposited in the respondent’s bank account.
The court made it clear that Yadav would be released on interim bail if the demand draft is submitted by the stipulated deadline. Failing that, the matter will be taken up for hearing again on Tuesday morning.
The actor has sought interim bail to attend his niece’s wedding, scheduled on February 19. The relief allows the actor to attend his niece’s wedding.
During the hearing, the court was told that the amount directed earlier had now been credited to the complainant. Taking note of the submission, the court asked, “Now that the remaining problem is resolved, why don’t you go into mediation?”
Counsels appearing in the matter said they would need to seek instructions from their respective clients regarding mediation.
The proceedings stem from a cheque bounce case in which Yadav had challenged his sentence order. According to the complainant’s counsel, Avnit Singh Sikka, the actor had signed seven cheques, each amounting to Rs 1.5 crore. Following the dishonour of the cheques, Yadav was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment on each count and fined Rs 1.35 crore per cheque.
The complainant’s counsel further submitted that Yadav neither paid the fine nor succeeded in securing suspension of his sentence. The High Court earlier found no merit in his plea to suspend the sentence. It was also stated that in 2024, Yadav proposed a settlement through mediation but allegedly did not clear the dues.
The counsel added that Yadav had made multiple applications before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma’s court seeking time to pay and had deposited Rs 75 lakh. However, after he failed to pay the remaining amount, the court, on February 2, granted him two days to surrender. He reportedly did not surrender within the given time and instead moved another application seeking an extension.
Subsequently, Yadav surrendered, changed his legal representation, and filed a fresh plea seeking interim bail to attend a family function.
The Delhi High Court has now linked his interim release to the immediate deposit of Rs 1.5 crore, setting a 3 pm deadline for compliance.
