Published Aug 06, 2026 | 12:22 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 06, 2026 | 3:30 PM
A younger Tarun Tejpal. (Photo | Wikimedia Commons)
The Bombay High Court on Thursday, 6 August, convicted former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal of rape in a 2013 sexual assault case and awarded him a sentence of ten years in prison. The Goa bench of the HC pronounced the sentencing on Thursday afternoon and gave the journalist two weeks to surrender.
Tejpal had been convicted by the court in the morning, under Sections 376(2)(f) and 376(2)(k), along with Sections 354A and 354B of the Indian Penal Code, in the sexual assault case filed against him by an ex-colleague.
Tejpal was accused by the woman colleague of sexually assaulting her on November 7, 2013, in the lift of the Grand Hyatt hotel in Bambolim, Goa. He was arrested in November 2013 and subsequently granted bail in July 2014.
The judgment followed an appeal lodged by the Goa government before the Bombay High Court in 2022, challenging Tejpal’s acquittal by a sessions court.
The sessions court had in 2021 acquitted the former Tehelka editor-in-chief on the grounds that the woman’s phone messages to Tejpal established that she was “neither traumatised nor terrified.” The trial at the sessions level had lasted for four years, beginning in 2017.
An apology email sent by Tejpal to the survivor after the alleged incident served as one of the key pieces of evidence examined during the appeal.
Senior advocate Aabad Ponda, appearing for Tejpal, argued that the woman had cooked up the narrative to secure a Rs 1 lakh fellowship grant for a book on violence against women. He also questioned her post-incident conduct, including her decision to continue working at Tehelka.
Appearing for the Goa government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta countered this, submitting there are no standard behavioural norms that survivors of assault can be expected to follow.
“Despite the victim being a girl of his daughter’s age, he committed an offence. He was a father figure [and] should not have indulged in this (crime). This court must give out a clear message to society that when a girl says no, it means no. A no means a no,” Mehta went on to argue.
After Justices Neela Gokhale and Amit Jamsandekar dismissed the defence’s arguments and delivered a verdict in favour of the survivor, Tejpal appealed for leniency, citing his age.
“I’m 62, and I believe I am a victim. I have a wife and there’s not much else to say. All that I can say is we can go and appeal. Please be lenient for me. Rest all facts are placed on record,” Tejpal was quoted as pleading.
Advocate Ponda had also sought leniency given the 13-year duration of the case and requested an eight-week stay on the conviction order to enable an appeal before the Supreme Court. In the end, only two weeks were given for surrender.
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(Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
