Rajpal Yadav is once again in Tihar Jail after surrendering on February 5, following a strict order from the Delhi High Court. The reason goes back nearly 15 years to a loan he had taken to produce his film Ata Pata Laapata.
What started as a creative step into filmmaking slowly became a legal nightmare. Rajpal had borrowed around Rs 5 crore from Murali Projects Pvt Ltd to fund the movie. But when the film failed at the box office, repayment became difficult. Cheques he issued to the lender bounced, and that triggered criminal cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
What happened in 2018 when he first went to jail?
This is not the first time Rajpal has been behind bars for the same matter. In 2018, a magisterial court convicted him and his wife in multiple cheque bounce cases. He was sentenced to six months in jail and served three months in Tihar Jail before getting relief.
Over the years, appeals were filed, hearings happened, and time passed. But the amount did not stay the same. With penalties and compounding interest added for more than a decade, the outstanding sum reportedly climbed close to Rs 9 crore.
After his release in 2018, Rajpal spoke about his time in jail in an interview. He said, “After three months, when I was leaving (the jail), the jail superintendent and staff gave me two certificates instead of one. He said, ‘This place is very historic, and in my whole life, I have not seen someone like you. We got inspired by you. We thought we would hear your complaints every day, but in these three months, you have made the walls come alive.’”
How did his ancestral property get involved?
The trouble did not stop in Delhi. In August 2024, a part of his ancestral property in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, was sealed by the bank. Rajpal had taken another loan years ago by mortgaging this property through a Mumbai branch of the bank for his production house.
Reports say that at the time of sealing, the dues in that case had touched Rs 11 crore.
Why did the court refuse to give him more time this time?
On February 2, 2026, the Delhi High Court clearly directed Rajpal Yadav to surrender before jail authorities by 4 p.m on February 5. When he failed to reach on time, his lawyer made a last-minute plea, saying he was arranging funds and reached Delhi at 5 p.m.
The court did not accept this explanation.
Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma strongly noted, “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.”
With that, Rajpal surrendered and began serving his sentence again in the cheque bounce case.
Support from the film industry
As news spread, actors like Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn and Sonu Sood reportedly stepped forward to help him financially. But for now, Rajpal Yadav’s story stands as a reminder of how one financial decision linked to a film can follow a person for years, from movie sets to courtrooms, and back to jail.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: india.com
