An Indian court has found Tarun Tejpal, a prominent journalist and author, guilty of raping a former colleague, overturning his 2021 acquittal in a case that has spanned over a decade. The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court convicted Tejpal under sections of Indian law pertaining to rape and sexual harassment, according to legal website LiveLaw.
Tejpal, the former editor of Tehelka magazine, now faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, with the possibility of life imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for later on Thursday. He has consistently denied the allegations and retains the right to appeal the verdict in a higher court.
The case against Tejpal, one of India's most well-known editors, made national headlines in 2013. A year earlier, widespread protests had erupted across India following the brutal gang rape and murder of a woman in Delhi, sparking a national conversation about sexual violence.
The accuser, who cannot be identified under Indian law, alleged that Tejpal sexually assaulted her in an elevator during Tehelka's high-profile international conference in Goa in November 2013. The event was attended by notable figures, including Hollywood actor Robert De Niro and Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan.
Tejpal initially described the incident as "a lapse of judgement" and "a misreading of the situation," but later claimed the case was a "political vendetta" by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Goa. He was arrested in 2013 and spent seven months in jail before being granted bail by the Supreme Court.
In 2021, a sessions court in Goa acquitted Tejpal, but the judge's observations in the 527-page order drew criticism for questioning the survivor's behavior. The judge noted that in photographs taken shortly after the alleged assault, the woman appeared "smiling and looked happy, normal, in a good mood," which some legal experts called "an assault on the survivor."
The Goa government appealed the acquittal, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the high court to impose the maximum sentence, stating, "This court must give a clear message to society that when a girl says no, it means no." Tejpal, in his plea for leniency, said, "I am 62. I believe I am a political victim. I am a father of two daughters. I have a wife. We will go up and appeal."
The court found Tejpal guilty under Section 376(2)(f), which pertains to rape committed by a person in a position of trust or authority over the woman. The verdict marks a significant development in India's ongoing struggle with sexual violence and accountability for powerful figures.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk