Supreme Court issues notices on Tarun Tejpal’s 10-year jail term

The Supreme Court issued notices on pleas by journalist Tarun Tejpal challenging his 10-year sentence in a 2013 rape case and by the Goa government seeking enhancement. Tejpal’s counsel sought a hearing on his bail plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices on two pleas concerning journalist Tarun Tejpal’s 10-year prison sentence in a 2013 rape case — one to Goa Police on his petition challenging the sentence and the other to Tejpal on a Goa government plea seeking enhancement of the sentence.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Tejpal, submitted before a bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and P B Varale that the case involved reversal of his acquittal by the Bombay High Court and urged the court to hear his bail plea.

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“This is a case of reversal, there is a right of appeal, I have surrendered. The High Court itself has suspended the sentence for four weeks,” Sibal said.

The bench said it would issue notices on both the pleas filed by Tejpal and the Goa government.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Goa government, said, “Rape never takes place for years and only one day is enough.”

The bench said it would give a specific date for hearing the matter.

On August 25, the top court had directed Tejpal to surrender within three weeks to undergo his 10-year prison sentence and dismissed his plea seeking exemption from surrendering.

Subsequently, Tejpal surrendered before the trial court in the matter. He surrendered before a local court in Goa earlier this month and was subsequently taken into custody.

On August 6, the Bombay High Court convicted Tejpal of rape and related offences and sentenced him to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment, overturning the acquittal of the former editor of Tehelka magazine by the trial court five years ago.

He was convicted of raping a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator in 2013 during an event organised by the magazine in Goa. Earlier, the 62-year-old journalist had claimed that he was a political victim.

Tejpal was convicted under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 376(2)(f) (rape committed by a person in a position of trust or authority), Section 354(a) (sexual harassment) and Section 354(b) (assault or use of criminal force with intent to disrobe).

Under Section 376(2)(f), the maximum punishment is life imprisonment.

On August 20, Tejpal moved the top court challenging the August 6 High Court order on his conviction in the case.

Earlier, the Goa government had moved the top court seeking an enhanced sentence for Tejpal, contending that the case warranted imprisonment for life.

In its petition filed in the apex court, the Goa government contended that the sentence imposed by the High Court was grossly disproportionate to the nature and gravity of the offences committed by Tejpal.

In its 81-page judgment, the High Court had termed the trial court’s 2021 order “perverse”, noting that it fell for the notion that a sexual assault complainant must be a “perfect victim” and should conduct herself in a certain way to appear credible.

The High Court also expressed strong disapproval of the way the defence put the victim in the dock and focused on her personal life, and said it found it surprising that the trial court “remained silent and allowed the defence to harass and humiliate her during the cross-examination”.

It had asked Tejpal to surrender within two weeks, but later extended the period to four weeks on a request from his lawyers.