Former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court’s verdict convicting him in the 2013 rape case involving a former colleague. The Goa government has also moved the Supreme Court, seeking an enhancement of his 10-year sentence.
Earlier, the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court overturned the 2021 acquittal of Tejpal by a trial court and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The case relates to allegations that Tejpal sexually assaulted a former Tehelka journalist inside a hotel elevator during the magazine’s ThinkFest event in Goa in November 2013.
Following the High Court verdict, Tejpal said he would challenge the decision before the Supreme Court.
What is the case against Tarun Tejpal?
The case dates back to November 7 and 8, 2013, when the former Tehelka journalist alleged that Tejpal sexually assaulted her twice inside a hotel elevator during the ThinkFest event.
The woman initially reported the allegations through an email to then Tehelka Managing Editor Shoma Chaudhury. In her complaint, she sought a written apology from Tejpal, a public acknowledgment of the incident before the organisation’s staff and the formation of an Internal Complaints Committee to address sexual harassment complaints.
After the allegations became public, the Goa Police took suo motu cognisance, registered an FIR and began an investigation. Investigators examined CCTV footage, emails, witness statements and other evidence before arresting Tejpal.
High Court overturns 2021 acquittal
On May 21, 2021, a Goa trial court acquitted Tejpal of all charges, holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the allegations beyond reasonable doubt because of insufficient evidence.
The Goa government challenged the acquittal in the Bombay High Court, arguing that the trial court had incorrectly assessed the evidence and the survivor’s testimony.
The High Court has now set aside the acquittal and convicted Tejpal, sentencing him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The court convicted him under Sections 376(2)(f), 376(2)(k), 354A and 354B of the Indian Penal Code, covering offences related to rape, sexual harassment and assault or criminal force with intent to disrobe a woman.
The detailed judgment is yet to be released. However, the High Court is understood to have held that the trial court placed undue emphasis on the survivor’s conduct after the alleged incident rather than properly assessing the evidence. It also reportedly gave greater weight to crucial evidence, including an email in which Tejpal apologised.
Tejpal’s journalism career
Tejpal began his journalism career with The Indian Express group in 1980. He later worked with India Today, The Financial Express and Outlook magazine.
He founded the publishing house India Ink, which published Arundhati Roy’s Booker Prize-winning novel The God of Small Things in 1998.
In 2000, Tejpal co-founded investigative news website Tehelka.com with journalist Aniruddha Bahal. The platform later became a tabloid newspaper in 2004 and subsequently a magazine in 2007.
