The Supreme Court appointed former judge Najmi Waziri to mediate Rajpal Yadav's cheque dispute. The move opens an amicable route while his conviction challenge remains pending.Newdelhi,Oct 21, 2026 17:18 ISTThe Supreme Court has appointed former Delhi High Court judge Justice Najmi Waziri as the sole mediator in a cheque-dishonour dispute involving actor Rajpal Yadav, news agency Press Trust of India reported.The case arises from a 2010 financial agreement under which Yadav received Rs 5 crore from M/s Murli Projects Pvt Ltd to finance his directorial debut, ‘Ata Pata Laapata’.
The complainant alleged that seven cheques issued as part of a settlement were dishonoured.According to the complainant, Yadav issued seven cheques of Rs 1.05 crore each in 2013 towards settling the financial assistance provided for the film. An agreement between the parties in 2012 stated that Yadav, his wife and their company had agreed to repay around Rs 11 crore, including interest.During the hearing, the Supreme Court noted that Yadav had deposited Rs 2 crore with its registry, PTI reported. “Owing to the issues briefly raised on behalf of the parties, it seems to us that the matter can be amicably resolved through mediation,” a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said.“Having regard to the complexity of the issues, we appoint Justice Najmi Waziri, former judge of the Delhi High Court, as the sole mediator to resolve the dispute between the parties,” the bench said in its October 15 order.
The court directed the parties to contact the mediator and fix a date for their appearance. It said the mediator could ask them to appear either in person or online and would fix his fee in consultation with the parties.The Supreme Court also directed the trial court to release Yadav’s passport so that he could continue with his professional work, subject to conditions imposed by the trial court.
It said Yadav could travel abroad only after complying with those conditions and would have to inform the trial court upon his return.“Post the matter immediately after the mediation report is received,” the bench said.During the hearing, Yadav’s counsel said the actor had deposited Rs 2 crore in compliance with the court’s earlier directions. He urged the court to hear on merits Yadav’s plea challenging his conviction and three-month sentence in seven cheque-dishonour cases.On September 15, the Supreme Court extended Yadav’s exemption from surrendering until October 5.
On September 8, it had issued notice on his plea and said he would be exempted from surrendering, subject to depositing Rs 5 crore with its registry.On July 10, the Delhi High Court upheld Yadav’s conviction in multiple cheque-dishonour cases and sentenced him to three months in prison. It refused to accept the delay of 1,894 days, or more than five years, in filing petitions against the conviction.The High Court directed Yadav to pay more than Rs 1 crore to the complainant in each of the seven cases.
It clarified that around Rs 2 crore already paid by the actor would be adjusted and suspended the sentence for two months to allow him to appeal against the decision.The court also ordered Yadav’s wife, Radha Rajpal Yadav, to pay the complainant a fine of around Rs 5.5 lakh in each case. It said she would face three months of simple imprisonment if she failed to pay the fine.The High Court’s verdict came on petitions filed by Yadav and his wife challenging a 2019 sessions court decision that upheld their conviction by a magistrate’s court in April 2018.
The magistrate’s court had sentenced the actor to six months in prison, which was later reduced to three months.The dispute will now be taken up through mediation led by Justice Waziri, and the Supreme Court will hear the matter after receiving the mediator’s report.- Ends