The former Tehelka editor has challenged his conviction and 10-year sentence after the Bombay High Court overturned his acquittal
Former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal has approached the Supreme Court challenging his conviction and 10-year prison sentence in a 2013 rape case.
Tejpal’s plea comes days after the Bombay High Court overturned his acquittal by a Goa sessions court and convicted him in the long-running case.
The case dates back to November 2013, when a junior colleague accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside a hotel elevator at a Goa event organised by Tehelka. Tejpal has denied the allegations.
A Goa trial court acquitted him in 2021. The acquittal was subsequently challenged by the Goa government, leading to the Bombay High Court’s intervention.
On August 6, the High Court reversed the acquittal and convicted Tejpal under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code. It awarded him 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, with the sentences to run concurrently.
The latest appeal places the High Court’s findings before the Supreme Court, giving Tejpal another opportunity to challenge the conviction as well as the punishment imposed on him.
The legal battle could also involve a separate plea by the Goa government seeking enhancement of the sentence to life imprisonment. The state has argued that the circumstances of the case warrant a harsher punishment.
The two competing pleas mean the Supreme Court will have to consider both Tejpal’s challenge to the conviction and the state’s demand for a more severe sentence.
The case has now entered another significant phase after more than a decade of legal proceedings.
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