‘You should know when to open your mouth’:SC slams Rajpal Yadav for failure to pay in cheque bounce case, says ‘Your place is in jail’

The Supreme Court on 5 October strongly criticised Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav for failing to deposit ₹5 crore in connection with multiple cheque bounce cases. According to a Bar Bench report, a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana noted that Rajpal Yadav had undertaken to deposit the amount with the Court registry by 5 October. However, he failed to do so. During the hearing in Rajpal Naurang Yadav Anr v. M/S Murli Projects Pvt Ltd, Yadav produced a copy of a ₹50 lakh demand draft and said that the amount was being processed by the bank. “Is this genuine or not? We don’t know,” the Bench remarked. Rajpal Yadav’s counsel said the draft was with the bank and was being processed. ‘He is a film actor and acting here also’: Counsel Counsel appearing for Murli Projects accused the actor of showing disregard for the Court. “He is a film actor. He is acting here also. He has no respect for the majesty of the institution,” the counsel said. When Rajpal’s counsel argued that the complainants were not poor, Justice Bagchi strongly objected. ‘You should know when to open your mouth’: Judge “They may be richer than you, but they are poor to the extent you have swindled them. This arrogance needs to be put in its right place. You should know when to open your mouth. Your place is in jail,” the judge said. Rajpal to make the payment by 6 October The Court directed Rajpal Yadav to make the payment by 6 October, Tuesday and listed the matter for hearing tomorrow as the first case. The dispute relates to ₹5 crore received by Rajpal and his wife from Murli Projects in connection with a film they were producing. After the film could not be completed within the agreed timeline, the parties entered into multiple agreements. Under one agreement, Rajpal issued eight security cheques to the company. A subsequent consent agreement provided for their return and the issuance of four fresh cheques of ₹10 crore each. Yadav, however, alleged that the earlier cheques were not returned and seven of them were presented and dishonoured. This led to criminal complaints against Yadav and his wife under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. In May 2024, a sessions court convicted Yadav and sentenced him to six months in jail. The Delhi High Court later suspended the sentence after he assured the Court that the dispute would be settled. However, the High Court subsequently noted that Rajpal had repeatedly failed to honour his payment commitments. In February 2026, he was directed to surrender and eventually surrendered on February 5. He was later granted interim relief after depositing ₹1.5 crore. The Supreme Court is now hearing his challenge to the three-month imprisonment order passed after he failed to make the remaining payments despite several undertakings.