The Bombay High Court's Goa bench on Thursday convicted former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal in a 2013 sexual assault case and sentenced him to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment. Overturning his May 2021 acquittal by a Goa sessions court, the bench comprising Justices Dr. Neela Gokhale and Amit Jamsandekar granted Tejpal two weeks to surrender before the authorities. The verdict comes nearly 13 years after Tejpal was accused of sexually assaulting a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator during the ThinkFest event in Goa.
The ruling followed an appeal filed by the Goa government challenging the trial court's acquittal order. During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the state, argued that the trial court had erred by evaluating the complainant's conduct based on preconceived notions of how a sexual assault survivor should behave. He submitted that reactions vary based on an individual's background and circumstances, asserting that the lower court placed undue weight on minor inconsistencies rather than examining the core allegations.
The prosecution further highlighted an email sent by Tejpal to the complainant following the incident, in which he apologized for a "lapse of judgment" and expressed shame, arguing it amounted to an admission of an encounter. While the defense maintained that the emails referred only to a consensual verbal conversation and questioned the complainant's conduct, the High Court set aside the acquittal. Following the judgment, Tejpal indicated that he would approach the Supreme Court to appeal the conviction.