The Supreme Court rejected former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal’s plea seeking exemption from surrendering in connection with his conviction in a 2013 rape case. The court has directed him to surrender within two weeks.
Tejpal had approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court’s August 6 verdict, which overturned his 2021 acquittal and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
A bench headed by Justice Alok Aradhe also directed Tarun Tejpal to submit a surrender certificate before the Court. The single-judge bench agreed to list his criminal appeal on September 22, subject to Tejpal furnishing the surrender certificate by then.
The case dates back to 2013, when a former colleague accused Tejpal of sexual assault during an event organised by Tehelka in Goa.
A trial court had acquitted him in 2021, but the Bombay High Court overturned that decision earlier this month and convicted him, sentencing him to 10 years in prison.
The Goa government has also separately approached the Supreme Court seeking an enhancement of Tejpal’s sentence to life imprisonment.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the State of Goa, opposed Tejpal’s plea. He argued that the request for exemption from surrender had to be considered in the context of the merits of the case. Mehta referred to the findings of the Bombay High Court and said the case involved an aggravated offence of rape, for which Tejpal had been sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
Justice Aradhe observed that the Court was examining the exemption plea because it had the power to consider such a request.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Tejpal, argued that the appeal challenged the High Court’s decision to overturn his acquittal and that the merits of the case required consideration. However, the Court said it had already examined the High Court judgment and directed both Tejpal and the State of Goa to restrict their submissions to the issue of exemption.
The Court then asked how much time Tejpal would need to surrender. After being told that he would require two weeks, the Court rejected his plea for exemption and directed him to surrender within two weeks and submit proof of surrender.
The Court further ordered that, once the surrender certificate is submitted, Tejpal’s appeal against the Bombay High Court judgment be listed for hearing on September 22.
In his appeal, Tejpal has challenged the High Court’s assessment of the victim’s evidence and other material relied upon to convict him.
He has specifically relied on CCTV footage from the hotel lift in Goa where the alleged offence took place, arguing that the footage does not support the victim’s account.
According to Tejpal’s plea, the CCTV footage and testimony of the hotel’s security manager indicate that the lift doors opened automatically upon reaching a designated floor and remained open for at least four seconds. He has argued that the sequence recorded on the CCTV, including the movement of the lift while he and the victim were allegedly not inside it, did not match the prosecution’s version accepted by the High Court.
Tejpal has also referred to WhatsApp messages, emails, CCTV footage and testimony from other witnesses to challenge the High Court’s assessment of the victim’s conduct after the alleged incidents. His plea argues that this material was inconsistent with the victim’s version, which formed the basis of his conviction.
The immediate question before the Supreme Court, however, was limited to whether Tejpal could be exempted from surrendering in order for his criminal appeal to be listed.
