A Goa court will on Thursday frame charges against journalist Tarun Tejpal who was accused of rape by a junior colleague four years ago.
The Bombay high court had on Tuesday rejected the 54-year-old journalist’s plea to put on hold the framing of charges till it decided a petition to drop all charges against him.
The former founder-editor of Tehelka was accused by the colleague of sexually assaulting her in an elevator of a five-star hotel during the magazine’s THiNK 2013 festival in Goa in November 2013.
The Mapusa court in Goa had on September 7 refused to drop charges against Tejpal. He is likely to be tried for rape, sexual harassment, assault and wrongful restraint. If found guilty, he faces 10 years to life in jail.
Tejpal has been charged under Sections 376(2)F and 376(2)K of the Indian Penal Code, among others. These stringent provisions, introduced after the 2012 rape and murder of a young physiotherapist in Delhi, say a person who is in a position of power and trust faces a maximum of life imprisonment for rape.
The allegations had kicked up a storm, forcing Tejpal, who had admitted to “bad lapse of judgment” and an “awful misreading of the situation”, to quit the magazine.
{{/usCountry}}The allegations had kicked up a storm, forcing Tejpal, who had admitted to “bad lapse of judgment” and an “awful misreading of the situation”, to quit the magazine.
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