Panaji, 6 Aug

The Bombay High Court on Thursday convicted former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal of raping a colleague in 2013, setting aside his acquittal by a Goa sessions court five years ago, and sentenced him to ten years' rigorous imprisonment.

Justices Neela Gokhale and Amit Jamsandekar of the HC's Goa bench initially said Tejpal shall surrender within two weeks, but following a request from his lawyers, the court extended the time to four weeks.

The court, while imposing the minimum punishment, said the incident occurred 13 years ago, and Tejpal has since then not committed any other offence. "Both parties (victim and Tejpal) may have moved on in life now," it observed.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,21,000 on Tejpal, which would be paid to the survivor. It said, "The victim having suffered sexual assault would be handed over the entire fine amount."

While Tejpal pleaded for leniency, claiming he was a "political victim" and the father of two daughters, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Goa government, demanded the maximum punishment to send a strong message that "no means no".

"We set aside the trial court order of acquittal. The respondent (Tejpal) stands convicted," the bench said.  Tejpal said he will move the Supreme Court against the HC's order.

He has been convicted under sections 376 (2)(f) (person who is a guardian or in a position of trust or authority rapes a woman), 354 (a) (sexual harassment) and 354 (b) (using criminal force on a woman with an intent to disrobe her) of the Indian Penal Code.

The bench sentenced Tejpal to ten years' rigorous imprisonment under section 376 (2)(f), one year under section 354(a) and three years under section 354(b). All sentences would run concurrently, it said. Tejpal, who was present in court, sought leniency, claiming that he was a "political victim" and the father of two daughters.

"I am 62 years old today. I am a father of two daughters. I have a wife. I am a political victim. My lawyers have also asked me to urge the court to show leniency," he told the court.

Tejpal's lawyer Aabad Ponda, while seeking the minimum punishment, also urged the court to suspend the sentence and conviction for at least 10 weeks so that they could file an appeal in the Supreme Court.

Tejal later told reporters that he will move the apex court against the HC order. "We will be appealing against this order. We feel the order is wrong. We will be moving to the Supreme Court against the order," he said.

The case relates to allegations by a former junior colleague that the veteran journalist sexually assaulted her inside a hotel elevator during the ThinkFest event in Goa in November 2013. After he was acquitted by the trial court in 2021, the Goa government challenged the verdict in HC.

Tejpal's lawyer Ponda said, "He has been on bail since trial and has not ever violated any of the conditions imposed on him. He is a senior citizen." Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, however, said Tejpal deserved the maximum punishment of life sentence considering his "brazen" attitude towards the victim and also for later portraying her as behaving normally after the alleged incident.

"The convict (Tejpal) was in a position of dominance over the victim. The victim was not just a colleague but also a friend of his daughter. The convict has shown no remorse," Mehta said. He repeated the offence the next day, and then during the trial and now before the HC questioned the victim's behaviour by saying that she behaved normally, he said.

"The punishment should commensurate the act. It is high time to send a clear message that no means no. That deterrent message needs to be sent out," Mehta said.

During the hearing on the state's appeal, Mehta had argued that the sessions court committed a serious error by assessing the complainant's conduct based on preconceived notions of how a victim of sexual assault should behave.

There is no universal standard governing the reaction of a survivor, as responses differ depending on an individual's education, personality, social background and circumstances, the Solicitor General had said.