Ram Gopal Varma, the renowned filmmaker known for movies like Satya, Rangeela and Sarkar, is facing legal trouble as a Mumbai sessions court has issued a non-bailable warrant against him. This development follows the rejection of his plea to suspend a three-month jail sentence in a cheque bounce case. The case dates back to 2018, when Varma's firm issued two cheques that were dishonored due to insufficient funds. The court has directed him to pay Rs. 3,72,219 to the complainant and has adjourned the matter to July 28 for the execution of the warrant. Varma, who is popularly known as RGV, has the option to apply for bail by appearing before the court.  

The case involves a complaint filed by a company named "Shree," which supplies hard disks and other computer-related equipment. Advocate Rajesh Kumar Patel, appearing for the complainant's company, had filed an affidavit before the magistrate court that the company was engaged in the business of providing hard disks for the last several years.  

According to the complaint, Varma's production company ordered hard disks worth Rs. 2,38,220 between February and March 2018. Despite raising tax invoices, the company did not receive payment, and later, the cheques issued by Varma's firm on June 1, 2018 to the complainant was dishonoured for insufficient funds. After this fact was brought to the notice of Varma's firm, a second cheque of the same amount was issued, which too was dishonoured due to "payment stopped by drawer". After multiple unsuccessful attempts to recover the payment, the supplier filed a case against him.  

In January 2025, the Andheri Magistrate Court convicted Varma under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, which penalizes cheque dishonor due to insufficient funds or exceeding the account’s arranged amount. He was sentenced to three months of simple imprisonment and directed to pay Rs. 3.72 lakh to the complainant within three months. Failure to pay would result in an additional three months of imprisonment.  

Varma was absent during the court proceedings, leading to the issuance of a non-bailable warrant (NBW) for his arrest. Subsequently, he appealed to the sessions court seeking suspension of the sentence, but on March 4, 2025, the sessions court rejected his plea and issued another NBW due to his non-appearance. However, the court granted Varma the liberty to apply for bail upon appearing before the court.  

The matter has been adjourned to July 28, 2025, for the execution of the warrant. Varma, who is largely based out of Hyderabad, where he runs his production house, has not issued any statement on the matter a yet.