Supreme Court Rejects Tarun Tejpal’s Plea to Suspend 10-Year Jail Sentence in Rape Case

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal’s plea seeking suspension of his 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence in a rape case dating back to 2013. The sentence was imposed by the Bombay High Court, which overturned his acquittal by a trial court and convicted him of sexually assaulting a female journalist.

The case concerns allegations that Tejpal sexually assaulted a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator in Goa on November 7 and 8, 2013, during an event organised by Tehelka magazine. The journalist had accused him of assaulting her on two occasions. Tejpal was arrested on November 30, 2013.

The latest order comes after the former editor surrendered before a court in Mapusa, Goa, following an earlier Supreme Court direction requiring him to surrender before his appeal against the Bombay High Court verdict could be taken up.

HOW THE CASE REACHED THE SUPREME COURT

The case has seen a prolonged legal battle spanning more than a decade. In 2021, a trial court in Goa acquitted Tejpal of the charges. The Goa government subsequently challenged the acquittal before the Bombay High Court.

In May 2021, the High Court set aside the trial court's acquittal and convicted Tejpal, sentencing him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. The court found him guilty of rape and other offences under the Indian Penal Code.

Tejpal subsequently approached the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court's judgment and seeking relief against the conviction.

Last month, the apex court rejected his application seeking exemption from surrendering before his appeal was heard. The court directed him to surrender within three weeks and submit proof of surrender.

THE SURRENDER CONDITION

During the earlier hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Tejpal, argued that the Supreme Court had the power to dispense with the requirement of surrender in appropriate cases and list the criminal appeal even without the accused first surrendering.

Sibal submitted that the matter involved a challenge to the High Court's reversal of an acquittal and that the merits of Tejpal's appeal warranted consideration.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of Goa, opposed the exemption plea. He relied on the findings of the Bombay High Court and argued that the case involved an aggravated offence of rape for which Tejpal had been sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

A bench of Justice Alok Aradhe observed that it was considering the exemption application precisely because it had the authority to do so. However, it asked both sides to confine their arguments to whether Tejpal should be exempted from surrendering rather than reopening the merits of the conviction at that stage.

After Tejpal's counsel sought three weeks to comply with the surrender requirement, the court rejected the exemption application and directed him to surrender within that period.

The Supreme Court also directed him to furnish a surrender certificate. It indicated that his criminal appeal against the Bombay High Court judgment would be listed for hearing on September 22, subject to submission of the certificate.

A CASE THAT HAS LASTED MORE THAN A DECADE

The allegations against Tejpal emerged in November 2013, when the journalist accused him of sexually assaulting her inside an elevator at a luxury hotel in Goa. The incident took place during an event organised by Tehelka.

The case triggered widespread scrutiny of the magazine's workplace environment and the response of its management to the allegations. Tejpal stepped down as editor-in-chief after the allegations surfaced.

The proceedings have since moved through multiple stages, from the trial court's acquittal to the Bombay High Court's reversal and the subsequent challenge before the Supreme Court.

The latest rejection of his plea to suspend the sentence marks another development in the legal proceedings, while his challenge to the High Court's conviction remains before the apex court.

With inputs from ANI