Supreme Court declines to suspend Tarun Tejpal’s sentence pending appeal

The Supreme Court has refused to suspend former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal's 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence in the 2013 rape case. The decision came while hearing his plea challenging the Bombay High Court's conviction and sentence

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to suspend the 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence awarded to former Tehelka Editor-in-Chief Tarun Tejpal in the 2013 rape case, declining to grant him relief pending the hearing of his appeal against conviction.

A Bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Prasanna B Varale said that, after a prima facie consideration of the evidence, including the emails and messages placed on record, it was not inclined to suspend the sentence.

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“[T]he evidence adduced by the prosecution witnesses, read with the materials produced with specific reference to the emails and messages taken on record, we do not, prima facie, find it to be a fit case for suspension of sentence,” the apex court observed.

During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Tejpal, submitted that the case involved a reversal of acquittal and argued that the normal course in such matters was to suspend the sentence during the pendency of the appeal.

Senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal, also appearing for Tejpal, submitted that his client had remained on bail throughout the trial and had never misused the liberty granted to him.

However, the Bench led by Justice Sundresh was not persuaded by the submissions seeking suspension of the sentence.

Opposing the plea, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Goa government, referred to an apology email sent by Tejpal to the victim after she had raised the issue with the magazine’s then editor and read out its contents before the apex court.

Earlier, on November 3, the Supreme Court had adjourned the hearing on Tejpal’s plea challenging his conviction and 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence, as well as the Goa government’s plea seeking enhancement of his sentence, till November 5 after Mehta sought more time.

During that hearing, Sibal had urged the apex court to allow Tejpal to go home during Diwali, submitting that the reversal of his acquittal should not prevent him from being released temporarily. However, the Goa government opposed the request.

Tejpal has challenged the Bombay High Court judgment that set aside his acquittal by a sessions court and convicted him of rape and other offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

On August 6, the Bombay High Court had set aside the acquittal, convicting Tejpal under Sections 376(2)(f) and 376(2)(k) (rape), 354A (sexual harassment) and 354B (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to disrobe) of the IPC and sentencing him to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment.

The case stems from allegations by a junior colleague that Tejpal sexually assaulted her inside an elevator of a luxury hotel in Goa during an event in November 2013.

In May 2021, a sessions court acquitted Tejpal, holding that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and referring to alleged lapses in the investigation.

The Goa government subsequently challenged the acquittal before the Bombay High Court. Tejpal surrendered before the Additional Sessions Court at Mapusa in Goa on September 14, following the Supreme Court’s rejection of his plea seeking exemption from surrender. He was subsequently taken to Central Jail in Colvale, North Goa, to serve his sentence.

Separately, the Goa government has approached the Supreme Court seeking enhancement of the 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence imposed by the High Court.