From punchlines to prison gates, a decade-old loan dispute ends with the actor surrendering to jail after repeated court warnings. Rajpal Yadav is an actor, who had previously entertained countless crowds with his comedic acts. Now he is going through one of the most difficult phases in his life, because of being cloistered within Tihar Jail . He didn't comply with multiple court decisions regarding numerous cheque bounce situations spanning over 10 years and longer.
The dispute started in 2010, when Rajpal Yadav obtained Rs 5 crore from Murali Projects Pvt Ltd based in New Delhi. He originally borrowed the amount to make his first feature film, Ata Pata Laapata, which was released in 2012. Due to poor box office performance, this resulted in him being unable to repay the loan, leading to a repayment crisis.
Rajpal and his wife Radha issued 7 cheques in favour of the lender as payment for the amount. The lender cashed the cheques, but all 7 bounced. The lender filed a criminal complaint against Rajpal and his wife for the dishonour of the cheques under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (the section of the law that deals with the dishonour of cheques).
The Magisterial Court convicted both Rajpal Yadav and Radha Yadav for the dishonour of the cheques in April of 2018 and sentenced Rajpal Yadav to 6 months of simple imprisonment. In early 2019, the Sessions Court upheld the conviction and found no error in the trial court's findings.
Rajpal Yadav subsequently filed a revision petition with the Delhi High Court. The High Court, in June 2024, granted Rajpal temporary relief from his incarceration. The court, therefore, urged Rajpal to try to arrive at a sincere/constructive means with his current debt to the lender (now approx. ₹9 crore), for example, by using the funds supplied by Rajpal to repay his loan to the lenders .
Despite being granted a reprieve by the court in 2018, the Dhol actor had repeatedly violated the conditions he was supposed to fulfil. The amount he deposited into the court registry was not sufficient to discharge his liability. As of October 2025, he had only deposited ₹75 lakh (in two demand drafts). In December 2025, he again committed to paying ₹40 lakh and the remainder in early 2026. None of these were met, and the court found a pattern of delay and non-compliance with at least 20 different undertakings by the actor over time.
On February 4th, Rajpal Yadav’s request for a 1 week extension of time to raise funds was rejected by the High Court.
The actor appeared in court once again on February 5. His attorney brought in a new check for Rs 25 lakh and offered a new payment plan for the court's consideration. The court chose not to overturn their order for Rajpal to be surrendered. Rajpal Yadav surrendered to the police at Tihar Jail later on that day at 4:00 p.m. in order to complete a 6-month sentence. The High Court has now directed that the money in the custody of the Registrar General for the above-mentioned complainant company will be paid to the complainant.
For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels