An Indian court has sentenced veteran journalist Tarun Tejpal to 10 years’ imprisonment for raping a junior colleague during a work event in 2013, overturning his earlier acquittal.
Key developmentsn The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court convicted Tejpal and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay a fine of 450,000 rupees (about US$5,250). The court gave him two weeks to surrender to begin serving his sentence.
The case The case dates back to November 2013, when Tejpal, then editor of the investigative magazine Tehelka, was accused of raping a junior female colleague inside a hotel elevator during a magazine event in Goa. The allegations emerged during a period of heightened public concern about sexual violence in India following the 2012 Delhi gang rape, which led to nationwide protests and stronger anti-rape laws.
Appeal planned Tejpal, who has consistently denied the allegations, said he intends to appeal the conviction to India’s Supreme Court. Before sentencing, he told the court that he believed he was a “political victim” and asked for leniency, noting that he is a father of two daughters and has a wife. Legal history In 2021, a Goa trial court acquitted Tejpal of charges including rape, sexual harassment and wrongful restraint. The Goa government appealed that decision. The Bombay High Court has now overturned the acquittal and found him guilty.
Earlier Response soon after the allegations surfaced in 2013, Tejpal described the incident in an email to colleagues as “a bad lapse of judgement” and “an awful misreading of the situation.” He announced a six-month leave of absence as “penance,” a response that drew criticism from many who felt it minimized the seriousness of the allegations.He was arrested later that year, spent about seven months in jail, and was subsequently released on bail while the legal proceedings continued.Tejpal has also maintained that the case was driven by a politically motivated campaign, an allegation that authorities have not accepted.
