Tejpal gets 10 years jail for raping staffer

Panaji: The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday sentenced former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal to 10 years’ jail in a sexual assault case filed by his junior colleague in 2013.

The court convicted former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal in the 2013 sexual assault case filed by his junior colleague.

The case pertains to allegations made by a female journalist who accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside a hotel elevator on November 7 and 8, 2013. Tejpal was arrested on November 30, 2013, on those charges.

In May 2021, the Goa sessions court acquitted Tejpal of all charges, holding that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial court noted the absence of medical evidence and relied on messages exchanged between the complainant and Tejpal, concluding that they did not support the claim that she had been traumatized by the alleged assault.

The Goa government subsequently challenged the acquittal before the Bombay High Court, seeking to set aside the trial court’s judgment.

“They have framed me too, but I still got acquitted. Despite that, now it depends on journalists to go and ask questions. You know Umar Khalid has been in jail for 6 years. You know Sharjeel Imam is there, you know Surendra Gadling is in jail in different cases.”