New Delhi, February 16: Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav has been granted an interim suspension of his sentence in the ongoing cheque bounce case by the Delhi High Court. The relief was granted on Monday, with the court ruling that his sentence will remain suspended until March 18. Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma, who passed the order, directed Yadav to submit a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh along with a surety of the same amount.

The decision was made after considering that Yadav had deposited Rs 1.5 crore into the respondent's bank account, an amount that corresponds to the bounced cheque amount. The court specified that the suspension of sentence would only remain in effect if Yadav met these conditions. He is now allowed to remain out of custody until the case is reheard on March 18.

Earlier in the day, Yadav’s counsel, Advocate Bhaskar Upadhyay, informed the court that the actor was willing to deposit the Rs 1.5 crore as a fixed deposit receipt (FDR) but was instructed by Justice Sharma instead to submit the amount via Demand Draft (DD). The court noted that a previous DD of Rs 75 lakh had already been submitted, alongside a Rs 25 lakh DD made out in favor of the complainant.

The case concerns a cheque issued by Yadav to M/S Murli Projects, which had bounced. Advocate Avneet Singh Sikka, representing the company, confirmed that the actor had deposited the requisite amount into the company’s account.

Previously, the High Court had called for a response from the complainant on Yadav's bail application and adjourned the matter at the request of Yadav’s counsel. The actor’s lawyer had stated that they had been unable to contact Yadav in time for the initial hearing. The court, however, had noted that Yadav’s prior commitments to settle the matter had not been upheld, leading to his incarceration.

The High Court had earlier withdrawn leniency towards Yadav in a series of cheque dishonor cases, directing him to surrender to the concerned Jail Superintendent. This followed multiple breaches of undertakings Yadav had given regarding settlement payments. The court had suspended the trial court’s sentence to allow for a settlement, but since the terms were not met, the matter was reopened.

The Supreme Court had previously declined to grant relief to Yadav, and the High Court has now continued its scrutiny of the case.