The Delhi High Court (HC) on Friday upheld Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav’s conviction in a cheque bounce case, while slashing his jail term from six months to three months. However, the court junked his request for the benefit of probation under the Probation of Offenders Act, observing that his conduct during the proceedings did not warrant such relief.

A single judge bench, comprising Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that Yadav had repeatedly assured the court that he would clear the outstanding dues but failed to honour his commitments despite being granted multiple opportunities to do so.

The HC held that there was no reason to interfere with the conviction and modified the trial court’s sentencing order by reducing the term of his imprisonment from six months to three months.

Sentence stayed for 2 months to facilitate appeal

While affirming the conviction, the HC ordered that the operation of its judgment would remain suspended for 2 months, paving the way for the comedy actor to approach a higher court if he chooses to challenge the verdict.

Furthermore, the court ordered Yadav to pay Rs 1.05 crore to the complainant in each of the seven cases arising from the dispute. Additionally, he was directed to pay Rs 1.04 lakh and Rs 75,000 to the complainant, along with Rs 25,000 to the State.

Besides this, the HC Bench directed Yadav’s wife, Radha Yadav, to pay Rs 5,51,380 to the complainant in all seven cases. It further clarified that the Rs 2.25 crore already deposited by the actor would be adjusted against the final amount payable under the court’s directions.

Case stems from dishonoured cheques

The proceedings arose from complaints filed by M/s Murli Projects Private Limited under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The complaints alleged that cheques issued by Yadav had been dishonoured.

In May 2024, a Session court convicted Yadav and sentenced him to six months of jail term. Subsequently, the Delhi HC suspended the sentence after Yadav’s counsel informed the court that the parties were willing to resolve the dispute amicably. Thereafter, the case was transferred to the Delhi HC’s mediation centre.

Repeated defaults weighed against Yadav

During the hearing, the Delhi HC noted that despite several adjournments and repeated assurances, Yadav failed to deposit the amounts he had undertaken to pay, including Rs 2.5 crore in instalments.

The court held that his repeated non-compliance reflected adversely on his conduct and was a tremendous factor in refusing the benefit of probation. Following this, in February this year, after Yadav failed to comply with the court’s directives, the HC ordered him to surrender. Moreover, it also trashed his plea seeking additional time for processing the payment. Consequently, he surrendered before the police on February 5.

The actor was then granted interim suspension of his jail term after he deposited Rs 1.5 crore with the complainant.