Bombay HC overturns Tarun Tejpal's acquittal, convicts him in 2013 sexual assault case

The Bombay High Court on Thursday set aside the acquittal of former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal in the 2013 sexual assault case and convicted him of rape and outraging the modesty of a woman.

A division bench of Justices Neela Gokhale and Amit Jamsandekar delivered the verdict on the Goa government's appeal against the 2021 trial court judgement that had acquitted Tejpal.

The case stems from allegations by a former junior colleague, who accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside a hotel elevator during the ThinkFest event in Goa in November 2013.

The Goa government had challenged the trial court's acquittal, arguing that the court erred in its appreciation of evidence and relied on stereotypes about how survivors of sexual assault are expected to behave.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state, argued that the trial court gave undue weight to minor inconsistencies in the complainant's statements while overlooking the consistency of her core allegations. He also referred to emails sent by Tejpal to the complainant after the alleged incident, contending that they amounted to an admission that an encounter had taken place.

The defence, represented by senior advocate Abad Ponda, maintained that the prosecution had misread the apology emails as admissions of a sexual encounter. It argued that the emails referred only to a consensual verbal conversation of a sexual nature and questioned the complainant's credibility, citing her conduct, messages and documentary records. The defence also contended that her account of being confined inside the lift was inconsistent with expert evidence and CCTV footage.

The high court had reserved its verdict last week after hearing detailed arguments from both sides and had directed Tejpal to remain present when the judgement was pronounced. The detailed judgement and sentencing order are awaited.