- August 6, 2026
High Court Convicts Journalist Tarun Tejpal: What Is The 2013 Sexual Assault Case Against Him?
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The Goa bench convicted Tarun Tejpal after setting aside the trial court verdict that had acquitted him.
Tehelka magazine founder Tarun Tejpal. (AFP/File)
The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday convicted former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal in the 2013 rape case, setting aside the judgment of a sessions court in Mapusa that had acquitted him in 2021.
A division bench of Justices Dr Neela Gokhale and Amit Jamsandekar allowed the Goa government’s appeal and found Tejpal guilty of rape and sexual harassment under Sections 376(2)(f), 376(2)(k), 354A and 354B of the Indian Penal Code.
Tejpal will be heard separately on the quantum of sentence. The matter was adjourned until 2.30 pm on Thursday for the sentencing hearing.
Tejpal Seeks Leniency, Plans Supreme Court Appeal
Tejpal, who was present in court when the verdict was pronounced, urged the bench to show leniency.
“I am 62, and I believe I am a victim. I have a wife, and that’s not much else to say. All that I can say is we can go and appeal. Please be lenient with me. The rest of the facts are placed on record,” he told the court.
Senior advocate Aabad Ponda, appearing for Tejpal, sought leniency while arguing that the case was nearly 13 years old and that no other FIR or criminal case had been registered against him.
He also requested that the conviction order be stayed for at least eight weeks to allow Tejpal to approach the Supreme Court, pointing out that the High Court had reversed an acquittal.
State Opposes Plea For Leniency
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Goa government, opposed the request for leniency and urged the court to send a clear message.
“Despite the victim being a girl of his daughter’s age, he committed an offence… He was a father figure should have not indulged into this… A precedent must be set… Victim refused but he kept advancing on two subsequent days… This court must give out a clear message to the society that when a girl says no, it means no. A No Means A No,” Mehta told the bench.
What Is The Tarun Tejpal Case?
The case dates back to November 7 and 8, 2013, when Tehelka’s annual ThinkFest was being held at the Grand Hyatt in Bambolim, Goa.
A woman journalist, who was then a junior employee at the magazine, accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside a hotel lift on two occasions.
The allegations became public after emails exchanged between the complainant, Tejpal and Tehelka’s then managing editor were leaked.
Tejpal subsequently stepped down as editor and was arrested. He was released on bail in July 2014, while the trial before a Goa sessions court began in 2017.
In May 2021, the trial court acquitted him of all charges.
What The Trial Court Had Said
The sessions court observed that the complainant “did not demonstrate any kind of normative behaviour” that a survivor of sexual assault “might plausibly show”.
It also referred to the absence of medical evidence and said her messages to Tejpal showed that she was neither “traumatised nor terrified”, which “completely belies” the prosecution’s case.
The verdict drew criticism over the court’s assessment of the complainant’s behaviour following the alleged assault. The Goa government subsequently challenged the acquittal before the High Court.
What Goa Government Argued
During the appeal, Solicitor General Mehta described the trial court’s handling of the case as “perturbing” and called it a “classic case of perverse findings”.
The state argued that the sessions court had effectively placed the complainant on trial and imposed expectations about how a survivor of sexual assault should behave.
Mehta maintained that there could be no universal standard for a survivor’s response and that the complainant’s decision to continue with her professional duties after the incidents could not be used to discredit her testimony.
He also objected to “embarrassing” questions asked during the trial about consensual sex, alcohol consumption, smoking and conversations containing “sexual overtones”, arguing that these should neither have been asked nor relied upon.
What Tejpal’s Defence Said
Tejpal’s lawyers argued that the complainant’s testimony contained contradictions and was not supported by objective evidence.
The defence relied on CCTV footage and expert testimony to challenge her account of what happened inside the hotel lift. Ponda argued that the claim that the lift was kept moving in a “continuous loop” by repeatedly pressing buttons was mechanically impossible.
The defence also said CCTV footage did not support the allegation that Tejpal pulled the complainant back into the lift when she tried to leave.
It further questioned why investigators had collected footage from the ground and second floors of the hotel but failed to secure or produce the first-floor recording.
Conduct And Apology Email Also Examined
Tejpal’s lawyers cited WhatsApp chats, emails, CCTV footage and witness testimony to argue that the complainant’s conduct after the incidents was inconsistent with the prosecution’s claim that she was traumatised and fearful.
The defence also disputed the prosecution’s reliance on an apology email sent by Tejpal, arguing that it was written under “institutional pressure” and could not be treated as a voluntary confession.
The High Court has now rejected the acquittal and convicted Tejpal. The sentence will be decided after hearing both sides separately.
About the Author
Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follo…Read More
August 06, 2026, 08:31 IST
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