New Delhi: Actor Rajpal Yadav has been sentenced to three months in jail after the Delhi High Court upheld his conviction in multiple cheque bounce cases, bringing a long-running legal dispute back into focus. While affirming the conviction, the court also gave the actor two months to challenge the verdict before a higher court, offering temporary relief from immediate imprisonment.

The High Court, presided over by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, ruled that Yadav must pay more than Rs 1 crore in compensation to the complainant in each of the seven cheque bounce complaints. The court clarified that nearly Rs 2 crore already deposited by the actor would be adjusted against the total amount payable.

The detailed judgment is yet to be released.

The case stems from a financial transaction linked to the production of a film that reportedly suffered heavy losses after its release. According to submissions made before the court during earlier proceedings, the money had been arranged to finance the movie's production, but the project's commercial failure led to financial difficulties and subsequent disputes over repayment.

The legal battle eventually resulted in multiple complaints under cheque bounce provisions after payments allegedly failed to materialise as promised.

Long legal battle reaches another milestone

The High Court was hearing revision petitions filed by Rajpal Yadav and his wife, who had challenged a 2019 sessions court judgment that upheld their conviction. That sessions court decision had, in turn, affirmed the verdict of a magistrate's court delivered in April 2018.

The magistrate had originally sentenced the actor to six months' imprisonment. The latest High Court order modifies the sentence to three months while maintaining the conviction.

Earlier relief and court observations

During the course of the proceedings, the High Court had granted Yadav interim relief in June by suspending his conviction. The relief, however, was conditional upon him making sincere efforts to settle the dispute with the complainant.

The matter took another turn when the court later observed that the actor had repeatedly failed to honour commitments made regarding repayment. Consequently, he was directed to surrender before the court in February.

Shortly afterwards, the High Court suspended the sentence temporarily after Yadav deposited Rs 1.5 crore into the complainant's bank account, allowing him to be released from custody while the matter remained under consideration.

With PTI inputs