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Bombay HC convicts Tarun Tejpal in 2013 sexual assault case, overturns acquittal
Bombay high court at Goa found the former journalist guilty of raping a colleague at a hotel in 2013.
The Bombay High Court at Goa on Thursday overturned a trial court’s 2021 acquittal and held former Tehelka magazine editor Tarun Tejpal, 61, guilty of raping a junior colleague during the ThinkFest conference at a five-star hotel in Goa in 2013.
A bench of Justices Neela Gokhale and Amit Jamsandekar will announce the quantum of sentence on Thursday afternoon after finding Tejpal guilty.
In May 2021, a fast-track court in Goa acquitted Tejpal of rape and sexual assault charges. The case hit the headlines amid a focus on crimes against women, a year after the rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in Delhi provoked national outrage, and prompted the government to pass tougher laws to check such crimes.
The Tejpal case triggered a debate on harassment of women at workplaces, and its underreporting over fears of job losses and persecution.
Tejpal was booked under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 376 (rape), 354 A (sexual harassment), 354 B (criminal assault with intent to disrobe a woman), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 342 (wrongful confinement).
In 2021, additional sessions judge Kshama Joshi acquitted Tejpal as he maintained he was falsely accused of sexual assault, giving him the benefit of the doubt and citing a lack of sufficient evidence.
The investigators said there were no cameras in the Goa hotel elevators. They checked CCTV footage.
Tejpal claimed he was framed after referring to an “unfortunate incident” between himself and a colleague in a leaked e-mail to Tehelka’s management in 2013. He described the incident as a “bad lapse of judgment” in the e-mail.
The trial in the case began in September 2017 before it was stalled, with Tejpal moving the high court and then the Supreme Court, against the framing of charges, and for discharge. The Supreme Court ordered that the trial be completed by December 2020. It extended the deadline citing the Covid pandemic. The trial resumed in 2019 and was held on a day-to-day basis from 2020.
The complainant said that Tejpal raped her in the hotel lift on November 7, 2013, and attempted to assault her again the day after.
The prosecution appealed against the acquittal and argued that the complainant was put on trial instead of Tejpal. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the complainant's testimony was used against her and cited excerpts from the cross-examination.
The Goa Police said that the trial court completely discarded the testimony of the survivor despite a clear and cogent account of the incidents of sexual harassment, rape, sexual assault, use of criminal force, and wrongful restraint and confinement.
The state argued the trial court disbelieved the version of the prosecutrix based on a conception of how a victim is expected to behave while being sexually assaulted.
The defence cited the inconsistencies in the survivor's statement and her behaviour following the assault. It cited CCTV footage, photographs, WhatsApp messages, emails, and witness testimony and argued that the complainant continued to participate in ThinkFest events, attended social gatherings and appeared at ease.
The defence said the complainant called Tejpal and asked him to join her for a photograph with Hollywood actor Robert De Niro. It argued that this was inconsistent with the prosecution's claim that she was fearful of the accused and trying to avoid him.
