Panaji: The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court has sentenced former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal to 10 years’ imprisonment in the 2013 sexual assault case involving his junior colleague. The High Court overturned the 2021 acquittal by the trial court and held Tejpal guilty of rape and outraging the modesty of a woman.
The judgment came while hearing an appeal filed by the Goa government against the 2021 order of the Goa Sessions Court, which had acquitted Tejpal of all charges.
The case relates to allegations that Tejpal sexually assaulted his junior colleague inside a hotel lift on November 7 and 8, 2013. Following the allegations, he was arrested on November 30, 2013.
On September 29, 2017, a trial court framed charges against him under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including rape and wrongful confinement. Tejpal denied all allegations and maintained that he was innocent. He later approached the Supreme Court seeking to have the charges quashed, but the apex court refused and directed that the trial be completed within six months.
In May 2021, the Goa Sessions Court acquitted Tejpal, observing that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. The trial court cited the absence of medical evidence and relied on text messages exchanged between the complainant and Tejpal, concluding that they did not support the claim that the complainant had suffered severe psychological trauma due to the alleged assault.
However, the Bombay High Court has now set aside that acquittal, convicted Tejpal, and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, holding him guilty in the 2013 sexual assault case.
