Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal convicted in 2013 rape case; Bombay HC overturns acquittal

Mumbai, August 6:The Bombay High Court on Thursday sentenced Tehelka founder and former editor Tarun Tejpal to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment after convicting him in the 2013 rape case, overturning the Goa trial court's 2021 acquittal. The High Court found Tejpal guilty of rape, sexual harassment, and using criminal force against a woman, bringing to a close a legal battle that lasted nearly 13 years. The court, however, granted him two weeks to surrender before the police and begin serving his sentence.

 

 

The court is scheduled to pronounce the quantum of sentence at 2:30 pm. Before sentencing, Tejpal appealed for leniency, citing his age.

 

"I am 62, and I believe I am a victim. I have a wife. There's not much else to say. All that I can say is we can go and appeal. Please be lenient with me," he told the court.

 

Since Tejpal has been convicted under provisions carrying a mandatory minimum punishment, he is likely to face at least 10 years of imprisonment, which may extend to life imprisonment.

 

 

The case stems from allegations made by a woman journalist, who accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside a hotel elevator on November 7 and November 8, 2013, during an event in Goa.

 

In May 2021, a Goa sessions court acquitted Tejpal, observing that the complainant's conduct after the alleged incidents did not match what it described as the "normative behaviour" expected of a victim of sexual assault. The court had also relied on messages exchanged between the complainant and Tejpal, stating they suggested she was "neither traumatised nor terrified."

 

The Goa government challenged the acquittal before the Bombay High Court.

 

 

Representing the Goa government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the trial court's findings were legally flawed and based on stereotypes about how a sexual assault survivor should behave.

 

The prosecution contended that the lower court had effectively put the complainant on trial by relying on irrelevant questions about her personal life, including whether she consumed alcohol, smoked cigarettes, had consensual sexual relationships or exchanged conversations with sexual overtones.

 

The state described the trial court's conclusions as "perverse findings" and argued that such considerations had no bearing on determining whether sexual assault had occurred.

 

Apology email cited as evidence

 

The prosecution also relied on an email sent by Tejpal to the complainant after the alleged incidents, in which he apologised for what he described as a lapse of judgment and expressed shame.

 

According to the state, the email amounted to an admission that the encounter had taken place.

 

 

The defence relied on CCTV footage, WhatsApp chats, emails and witness statements, claiming the evidence did not support the allegation that Tejpal forcibly pulled the complainant into the elevator.

 

It also argued that the complainant continued to attend social events in the days following the alleged assault, including visiting Hollywood actor Robert De Niro's hotel suite, and contended that her conduct was inconsistent with the prosecution's claim that she was traumatised.

 

The defence further maintained that Tejpal's apology emails did not amount to an admission of any sexual encounter, asserting that they referred only to a consensual verbal conversation of a sexual nature.