The Delhi High Court on Thursday shot down Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav’s final effort to avoid prison in a cheque bounce case, prompting him to state that he will surrender before Tihar jail today.
Yadav was present in court today. Senior Advocate Abhijat appeared for him and stated that they would pay a ₹25 lakh amount today itself and that a repayment schedule for the balance amount has also been tentatively agreed to between the two sides.
However, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said that Yadav had to surrender yesterday (Wednesday) and, therefore, he would be heard only after he hands himself over to the jail authorities.
After this, Abhijat said that Yadav will surrender today at Tihar Jail.
The Court said that once the actor surrenders, he can file an application.
In its order, the Bench observed that those who do not respect and honour the law should not expect any favour from it and that the law rewards its compliance, not contempt.
“Extending continuous leniency to a person who has been disregarding the directions of the law would rather also send a message to the community that the law and Court’s directions can be disregarded repeatedly without being punished for it. This Court, cannot, allow this message to be conveyed, by now recalling its order when the conduct of the petitioner before it does not merit it,” Justice Sharma said.
The Court added that it cannot create any special circumstances for any person merely because they belong to a particular background or industry.
The High Court had on February 2 directed Yadav to surrender in two days before a jail superintendent for failing to make payments to a complainant in a cheque bounce case.
However, on February 4, he made a plea for an extension of time. This plea was rejected by the Court.
The Court had stated that the order for surrender was passed only after Yadav failed to comply with any of the assurances made to the Court.
In May 2024, a sessions court had convicted and sentenced Yadav to six months’ jail in a cheque bounce case.
However, the High Court later suspended his sentence on the assurance of his counsel that he was willing to amicably settle the issue with the production company he was indebted to. He failed to do so.
On February 2, the Court rejected Yadav’s explanation that the payment could not be made due to an inadvertent error in the demand draft, noting that he did not take any steps to rectify the error.
