Rajpal Yadav surrenders in Tihar jail after HC refuses deadline extension in cheque-bounce cases

Actor Rajpal Yadav on Thursday surrendered before the Tihar Jail authorities here, after the Delhi High Court refused to extend the deadline in connection with his conviction in cheque-bounce cases. “He surrendered before the jail authorities at 4 pm on Thursday. Now the jail authorities will follow the standard operating procedure,” a jail source said.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court refused to recall its direction to actor Rajpal Yadav to surrender before jail authorities in connection with his conviction in cheque bounce cases, saying it cannot be expected to “create special circumstances” on account of his background or industry.

While recording her “strong disapproval”, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma directed Yadav to surrender immediately and observed that his failure to surrender on February 4, despite court orders, reflected scant respect for the law.

Yadav’s senior counsel made a “mercy plea” to the court to recall its earlier order to enable him to arrange money to repay the complainant, M/s Murali Projects Pvt Ltd. The counsel said that Yadav could not comply with the direction to surrender on February 4 at 4 pm, as he was trying to arrange the money and reached Delhi at 5 pm.

Law rewards its compliance and not its contempt, the court remarked, as it opined that recalling its earlier direction would send a message that its orders could be disregarded repeatedly without any consequences.

“This Court cannot be expected to show or create special circumstances for any person merely because such a person belongs to a particular background or industry. Leniency, though sometimes necessary, cannot be extended endlessly, especially when it is met with continued non-compliance,” said the court.

“In these circumstances, this Court finds no merit in the plea of the counsel for the petitioner to recall its order directing surrender of the petitioner before the Jail Superintendent, Tihar. “He is directed to surrender to the Jail Superintendent, Tihar, immediately today,” it ordered.  Yadav physically appeared before the court for the proceedings.

His senior lawyer said he was ready to pay a demand draft of Rs 25 lakh to the complainant and also adhere to a payment schedule. The court’s proceedings came on revision petitions by Yadav and his wife challenging a 2019 decision of a sessions court, which upheld their conviction by a magisterial court here in the cheque-bounce cases in April 2018.

In June 2024, the high court had temporarily suspended his conviction, subject to him adopting “sincere and genuine measures” to explore the possibility of reaching an amicable settlement with the opposite party.