The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday convicted former Tehelka Editor-in-Chief Tarun Tejpal in the 2013 rape case, overturning a Goa trial court’s 2021 acquittal.
A division bench of Justice Dr. Neela Gokhale and Justice Amit Jamdar delivered the verdict after reserving its order on July 30 following three days of final arguments.
The case relates to allegations made by a woman journalist, who accused Tejpal of raping her inside a hotel elevator during Tehelka’s ThinkFest event in Goa on November 7-8, 2013.
The allegations became public after emails detailing the complaint were leaked. The pronouncement of sentence is at 2:30pm today.
According to Live Law addressing the bench, Tejpal said that he was now 62 years old and pleaded for lenience.
“I am 62, and I believe I am a victim. I have a wife, and that’s not much else to say. All that I can say is we can go and appeal. Please be lenient with me. The rest of the facts are placed on record,” he said.
Goa Advocate General welcomes Tejpal conviction, says trial court ‘erred’ in acquittal
Tejpal resigned as Editor-in-Chief soon after the allegations surfaced and was arrested on November 30, 2013. He was granted bail in July 2014, while the trial began in 2017.
In May 2021, a Goa trial court acquitted Tejpal of all charges, citing the complainant’s conduct, medical evidence and text messages.
Tejpal coming out of the trial court on 30 November 2013
The Goa government challenged the acquittal before the Bombay High Court, arguing that the trial court had erred by questioning the survivor’s credibility instead of properly assessing the evidence.
During the appeal, the defence argued that the complainant’s statements contained inconsistencies, questioned the technical feasibility of the alleged incident inside the elevator, and said CCTV footage did not show her being forcibly pulled into the lift. The defence also alleged that the complaint had been filed to secure a fellowship.
Tarun Tejpal’s conviction a landmark verdict for survivor’s rights: Investigating officer
Veteran journalist and publisher
Tejpal began his journalism career with The Indian Express group in 1980 before joining India 2000 magazine in New Delhi.
He later worked as a senior sub-editor at India Today, joined The Financial Express in 1994, and subsequently spent several years at Outlook magazine.
He later founded the publishing house India Ink, which published Arundhati Roy’s Booker Prize-winning novel The God of Small Things in 1998.
In March 2000, Tejpal co-founded the investigative news website Tehelka.com with journalist Aniruddha Bahal. The platform later evolved into a tabloid newspaper in 2004 before becoming a magazine in 2007.
