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Bollywood comedian Rajpal Yadav, now in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, has made a big step in his long-running cheque bounce case—he’s paid ₹2.5 crore so far. His lawyer told the Delhi High Court about this payment on February 13, 2026, during a hearing on Rajpal’s interim bail plea. The judge pushed the next hearing to February 16, leaving Rajpal in custody for now.

This whole mess goes way back. Around 2010, Rajpal borrowed ₹5 crore to fund his movie Ata Pata Laapata, which hit theaters in 2012 but flopped badly. After the film tanked, the cheques he’d written to M/s Murli Projects Pvt. Ltd. bounced. Over the years, with all the interest and penalties piling up, the debt ballooned to somewhere between ₹9 and ₹11 crore. Multiple complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act led to convictions, fines, and a six-month jail sentence that stuck after several appeals.

Rajpal turned himself in at Tihar on February 5, 2026, when the High Court refused to give him any more time. The court was pretty blunt, calling out his “deplorable” conduct and making it clear that being a celebrity doesn’t mean he gets special treatment.

At the latest hearing, Rajpal’s lawyer Bhaskar Upadhyay told the court that the actor has already paid ₹2.5 crore. That includes about ₹1 crore deposited earlier with the court registry, plus a fresh cheque for ₹25 lakh he just handed over. The lawyer argued that Rajpal wants to pay more and that jail time in financial cases shouldn’t depend just on previous promises. “The original ₹5 crore became ₹11 crore. So far, we have paid ₹2.5 crore... Whatever help we’re getting, we’re ready to deposit with the court,” Upadhyay told the judge. “Let’s see what the court decides on Monday.”

The other side hasn’t replied to Rajpal’s bail request yet, so the court pushed everything to February 16. Until then, Rajpal stays in jail, and the judge wants a clear plan for how he’ll pay the rest.

The case has sparked a lot of talk in the film industry. Some friends say Rajpal always meant to pay and is doing his best, but others aren’t impressed by the lack of support from Bollywood during his tough stretch. For now, this partial payment looks like a step forward—maybe toward a settlement, maybe bail. But it’s still up in the air.