Panaji, September 14 (Udaipur Kiran) : Tarun Tejpal, the former editor-in-chief of Tehelka, surrendered to a Goa court on Monday following his conviction for rape. The court has since remanded him to Kolavale Central Jail in North Goa. This development comes after the Bombay High Court sentenced him to ten years in prison for a 2013 case.
On August 25, the Supreme Court instructed the 62-year-old journalist to surrender within two weeks before the hearing of his appeal against the conviction could commence. The court denied his plea for immediate relief, stating that his appeal would only be considered after he submitted a surrender certificate.
Tejpal surrendered at the additional sessions court in Mapusa, adhering to the Supreme Court’s directive which required him to present the certificate by September 22. The court made it clear that his appeal against the ten-year sentence would be heard only after his surrender.
During the proceedings, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Tejpal, argued that the Bombay High Court had initially granted him four weeks to surrender. He noted that Tejpal had been out on bail for most of the trial and emphasized his status as a senior citizen. Sibal also referenced the Supreme Court Act of 1970, suggesting the court could consider his plea for relief alongside the appeal.
However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed this, asserting that the appeal could not be heard until Tejpal either surrendered or obtained an exemption from doing so.
After listening to both sides, Justice Alok Aradhe asked how much time Tejpal would need to surrender, to which Sibal requested two weeks. The Supreme Court granted this request, stipulating that if the surrender certificate was filed by the specified date, the appeal would be listed for consideration.
The Bombay High Court had overturned a lower court’s decision that acquitted Tejpal in August, finding him guilty of rape and other offenses under the Indian Penal Code. The case revolves around allegations from a junior colleague who accused him of sexual assault in a hotel lift during an event in November 2013. Tejpal was arrested after his anticipatory bail plea was denied by a local court in November 2013, although he was granted regular bail by the Supreme Court in July 2014.
In May 2021, he was acquitted by a sessions court, which stated that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the Goa government challenged this decision in the Bombay High Court, arguing that the trial court misinterpreted the evidence presented.
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