Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal Convicted For Raping Colleague As Court Sets Aside 2013 Acquittal
Goa: Bombay High Court on Thursday, August 6, set aside the acquittal of Tehelka magazine founder journalist Tarun Tejpal in a 2013 rape case. A Goa trial court had acquitted the editor in chief in 2021.
The incident occurred in 2013 and the victim, a Tehelka employee, accused Tejpal of raping her in the elevator of a Goa resort during the magazine’s annual Thinkfest event.
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Allowing the appeal filed by the Goa Government, a division bench of Justice Dr Neela Gokhale and Justice Amit Jamsandekar, convicted Tejpal. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced at 2.30 pm. verdict comes after days of protracted hearings in one of India’s most high-profile trials involving a prominent journalist.
The bench pronounced Tejpal guilty of the offences of rape and sexual harassment under Sections 376(2)(f) and 376(2)(k), along with Sections 354A, 354B of the Indian Penal Code.
Reacting to the verdict, Goa Advocate General Devidas Pangam said the high court judgment is actually a good judgment and is based on evidence on record. “The trial court completely erred when it ordered the acquittal of the accused. There was so much evidence on record regarding the situation and the events that had taken place,” he pointed out.
“The facts were proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Despite that, the trial court acquitted the accused based on certain assumptions and observations about the character of the victim. In fact, throughout the entire judgment of the trial court, there was a character assassination of the victim,” he added, highlighting that the victim was treated as if she was the accused.
“We were really shocked by that judgment. Today’s judgment of the High Court has come as a solace to the victim. It is a judgment based on justice and the evidence available on record. As a state, we are very happy that we have been able to provide justice to a girl who was victimized by her own employer…The evidence presented before the court was the result of the efforts of an entire team,” he underlined in a video shared by news agency ANI.
#WATCH | Bombay High Court at Goa convicts Tehelka magazine Founder Tarun Tejpal in the 2013 sexual assault case
Goa Advocate General Devidas Pangam says, “This judgment is actually a good judgment…The trial court completely erred when it ordered the acquittal of the accused.… pic.twitter.com/QK1xDewVZE
— ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2026
