Tarun Tejpal faces life term? Goa govt moves Supreme Court after 2013 rape conviction

State seeks only modification of sentence

The Goa government has clarified that its plea seeks only a modification in the quantum of punishment and does not seek to reopen the case.

Bombay High Court overturned acquittal

The Bombay High Court recently convicted Tejpal in the case, overturning his acquittal by a Sessions Court in 2021.

Tejpal calls himself 'victim of politics'

Following the High Court verdict, Tejpal maintained that he was a "victim of politics" and announced that he would challenge the order before 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.