The Bombay High Court Goa Bench on Thursday (August 6) overturned the judgment of a Sessions Court in Mapusa that had acquitted Tehelka Magazine’s editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal in a rape case filed against him by a junior colleague in November 2013.
A division bench of Justice Dr Neela Gokhale and Justice Amit Jamsandekar, while allowing the appeal filed by the Goa Government, convicted Tejpal. The bench found him guilty of the offences of rape and sexual harassment under Sections 376(2)(f) and 376(2)(k), as well as Sections 354A and 354B of the Indian Penal Code.
He will now be heard separately on the question of sentence.
Following the pronouncement, Senior Advocate Aabad Ponda urged the bench to show leniency towards his client while awarding the sentence, noting that the offence dates back at least 13 years. He also sought a stay on the conviction order for a minimum of eight weeks to allow an appeal to be filed in the Supreme Court, pointing out that the judgment reversed an earlier acquittal. He further emphasised that no other case or FIR has been registered against Tejpal.
Tejpal was present in the courtroom when the order was pronounced, as the bench, while closing the matter for orders, ordered him to stay present for pronouncement of the judgment. Addressing the bench, Tejpal said that he was now 62 years old and pleaded for lenience. “I am 62, and I believe I am a victim. I have a wife, and that’s not much else to say. All that I can say is we can go and appeal. Please be lenient with me. The rest of the facts are placed on record,” he said.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, for the State, opposed the plea for leniency, saying, “Despite the victim being a girl of his daughter’s age, he committed an offence. He was a father figure should have not indulged into this. A precedent must be set. Victim refused but he kept advancing on two subsequent days. This court must give out a clear message to the society that when a girl says no, it means no. A No Means A No.”
The matter has been adjourned until 2:30 today for the hearing on sentence. A detailed copy of the judgment is yet to be made available.
The bench disposed of an appeal filed by the State CID, which was represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Goa’s Advocate General Devidas Pangam.
It was contended that the Sessions Court, rather than examining the material on record, focused on the victim’s ‘post-incident’ behaviour, reactions and background. The State argued that the court had effectively ‘put the victim on trial’ instead of conducting a proper trial against Tejpal, and further pointed out that the trial court disregarded key evidence, including Tejpal’s ‘apology email’ sent to the victim after she complained about him to the company’s then managing editor.
