Former editor-in-chief of Tehelka, Tarun Tejpal, was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court (HC) on Thursday, in connection with the 2013 sexual assault case involving a former colleague. The verdict was pronounced just hours after the HC set aside his acquittal, provided by a Goa Sessions Court and convicted him after re-evaluating the evidence.

The judgment is being viewed as a significant development in a case that remained under legal scrutiny for more than a decade.

Court awards multiple sentences, monetary penalties

The HC sentenced Tejpal to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI) and slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh on him under Section 376(2)(F) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He was also awarded another sentence of 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment, along with an additional fine of Rs 5 lakh under Section 376(2)(K) of the IPC.

Further, the court sentenced him to one year’s RI and a fine amounting to Rs 10,000 under Section 354, one year’s RI under Section 354A and three years’ RI under Section 354B of the IPC.

The Bench, while pronouncing the verdict, noted that the alleged incident had taken place around 13 years ago and observed that no further allegations of misconduct had emerged against Tejpal since then. It also remarked that both the survivor and the accused had moved on with their lives in the intervening years.

Case arose from alleged assault during THiNK Fest

The case dates back to November 2013, when a young female journalist accused Tejpal, the then editor-in-chief of Tehelka, of sexually assaulting her inside a lift at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Goa during the publication’s ThiNK Fest.

As per the complaint, the alleged assaults took place on two consecutive days during the event.

However, Tejpal denied the allegations consistently, throughout the proceedings, maintaining that he was innocent. Police arrested him in November 2013 and released him on bail later.

In May 2021, a sessions court in Goa acquitted him of all charges. Subsequently, the Goa government challenged the verdict before the Bombay HC, engaging Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to lead the appeal. The State contended that the trial court had erred in its appreciation of evidence and had placed undue emphasis on the survivor’s conduct after the alleged incident took place.

Tejpal to challenge verdict in SC

After re-examining the evidence, the HC overturned the acquittal and convicted Tejpal. During the sentencing hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the court to award the maximum punishment, arguing that the case involved a grave breach of trust and authority, as the survivor was the daughter of one of Tejpal's close friends.

Reacting to the verdict, Tejpal said he would challenge the HC’s verdict before the Supreme Court (SC).

He said while addressing the media after the verdict, "We will be appealing against this order. We believe the order is wrong and will approach the Supreme Court".