New Delhi: Former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal has approached the Supreme Court of India to challenge his conviction and 10-year prison sentence in a 2013 sexual assault case involving a junior colleague. The appeal follows a ruling earlier this month by the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court, which overturned his 2021 acquittal by a local sessions court.
Tejpal’s legal move comes on the heels of a separate petition filed by the Goa government before the apex court seeking to enhance his punishment to life imprisonment. State prosecutors argued that the 10-year term of rigorous imprisonment was grossly disproportionate and inadequate given the gravity of the offences committed.
On August 6, a High Court division bench comprising Justice Neela Gokhale and Justice Amit Jamsandekar found Tejpal guilty of rape and directed him to pay a fine of Rs. 10.21 lakh, designated for the survivor. The judges set aside the trial court’s previous judgment, describing the earlier evaluation of evidence as perverse and contrary to the record. The bench also criticized the lower court for relying on preconceived notions of how a survivor should behave rather than assessing the credibility of the testimony.
The case originated in November 2013 when the complainant reported the assault to the magazine’s managing editor following an event in Goa, prompting an unconditional written apology from Tejpal acknowledging a lapse of judgment. Although Tejpal was arrested later that month and formally charged in early 2014, he was granted bail by the Supreme Court in July 2014.
A Mapusa trial court initially acquitted Tejpal in May 2021 after questioning inconsistencies in the complainant’s statements. However, the High Court determined that the prosecution had established the case beyond reasonable doubt, concluding that the survivor’s testimony was consistent, reliable, and substantiated by corroborative electronic evidence.
