Former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal sentenced to 10-year jail term in 2013 rape case as Bombay HC overturns acquittal
Mumbai/IBNS: Former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal was on Thursday sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment by the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court after being convicted in the 2013 rape case, according to media reports.
The High Court had earlier in the day overturned Tejpal's 2021 acquittal by a Sessions court, holding him guilty in the case.
Two weeks to surrender
The court granted Tejpal two weeks' time to surrender before serving his sentence.
Tejpal to move Supreme Court
Following the verdict, Tejpal maintained that he was a "victim of politics" and announced that he would challenge the High Court's order in the Supreme Court, NDTV reported.
Background of the case
In November 2013, Tejpal was accused of sexually assaulting a young woman colleague during the THINK festival in Goa.
According to the complainant, Tejpal sexually assaulted her twice inside an elevator at a luxury hotel on the nights of November 7 and 8, 2013, despite her repeated objections. She later reported the incidents internally to the management of Tehelka.
The allegations became public after email exchanges between the complainant and Tejpal surfaced. Tejpal had initially described the incident as an "untoward incident" in an email to the magazine's then managing editor and offered to recuse himself from Tehelka for six months. He later denied the allegations, claiming the encounters were consensual.
Legal proceedings
The Goa Police registered a case against Tejpal on charges including rape, sexual harassment, wrongful confinement and outraging the modesty of a woman under the Indian Penal Code.
He was arrested in November 2013 and remained in custody for several months before being granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2014.
In May 2021, a Goa Sessions Court acquitted Tejpal of all charges, holding that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The Goa government challenged the acquittal before the Bombay High Court. In 2023, the High Court admitted the appeal and stayed portions of the trial court's judgment that had made adverse observations about the survivor.
On Thursday, the High Court overturned the acquittal and convicted Tejpal in the case.
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