Actor Rajpal Yadav surrendered to Tihar Jail after the Delhi High Court rejected his plea for more time to repay nearly ₹9 crore in a cheque-bounce case. He was later granted temporary release after depositing ₹1.5 crore with the complainant.
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Fresh out of a temporary release from Tihar Jail, Rajpal Yadav has suggested that prisons should have designated smoking areas, just like airports and railway stations.
“I think prisons should work as reform centres, not just punishment cells. People need structured chances to change,” Yadav told the Press Trust of India. He added that it’s often tricky for outsiders to know who is a habitual offender and who just made a one-time mistake.
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For now, the actor is keeping media interactions low. He plans to stay away for two days because of a family wedding, promising to answer questions later in a press conference. He also emphasised that he is still a proud Indian citizen and voter, keen to focus on earning rather than sympathy.
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The legal troubles started when the Delhi High Court rejected Yadav’s plea for more time to repay a cheque of nearly ₹9 crore. The case traces back to 2010, when Yadav borrowed ₹5 crore to produce a film under his own banner.
Unfortunately, the movie flopped. This left him unable to repay the loan.
Over the years, interest and unpaid dues caused the debt to swell to ₹9 crore across seven different cases. Court hearings, legal notices, repayment orders followed thereafter.
A magistrate court in 2018 convicted Yadav under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act. This was for non-payment and sentenced him to six months in Tihar Jail. Multiple appeals, adjournments, partial repayments followed over next few years but the full amount remained unsettled.
Even amid legal chaos, Yadav’s colleagues came forward to support him. Actors Sonu Sood and Gurmeet Choudhary, along with music composer Rao Inderjit Yadav, extended financial help to his family and urged others to do the same.
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