Bombay High Court Sentences Tarun Tejpal to 10 Years in 2013 Sexual Assault Case

Nearly 13 years after one of India's most closely watched #MeToo-era criminal cases began, former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in the 2013 sexual assault case filed by a junior colleague.

The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday pronounced the sentence after earlier convicting Tejpal while allowing the Goa government's appeal against his acquittal by a sessions court in 2021.

The case dates back to November 2013, when a woman journalist accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside a hotel elevator on two consecutive days during an event in Goa. He was arrested later that month and subsequently charged with offences including rape, sexual harassment and wrongful confinement under the Indian Penal Code.

In May 2021, the Goa Sessions Court acquitted Tejpal, holding that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. The trial court cited the absence of medical evidence and relied on messages exchanged between the complainant and Tejpal while reaching its conclusion.

The Goa government challenged that verdict before the Bombay High Court, arguing that the trial court had failed to properly appreciate the evidence. The High Court accepted the appeal, set aside the acquittal and convicted Tejpal before announcing a 10-year prison sentence.

Reacting to the verdict, Tejpal said he would challenge the conviction in the Supreme Court.

"We will go to the Supreme Court, hundred percent we will go," he told reporters outside the court.

He also alleged that he had been subjected to a "political vendetta" because of Tehelka's journalism, claiming the case was part of a broader attempt to target those who had challenged powerful interests. Those allegations reflect Tejpal's position and have not been established by the court.

Meanwhile, former investigating officer Sunita Sawant welcomed the High Court's decision, saying the State had appealed because it believed the trial court's acquittal was "perverse."

"We had already challenged the trial court's order because it was definitely a perverse order," Sawant said, adding that the High Court had carefully examined the evidence and identified flaws in the trial court's reasoning.

The verdict marks a significant reversal in one of India's most prominent sexual assault cases involving a senior media figure and brings a legal battle that has spanned more than a decade to a new stage, with Tejpal now set to move the Supreme Court.

(With inputs from ANI)