The court has directed him to surrender within two weeks. The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal’s plea seeking exemption from surrendering in connection with his conviction in a 2013 rape case.
The Goa government has also separately approached the Supreme Court seeking an enhancement of Tejpal’s sentence to life imprisonment. 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. The single-judge bench agreed to list his criminal appeal on September 22, subject to Tejpal furnishing the surrender certificate by then. 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.
A bench headed by Justice Alok Aradhe also directed Tarun Tejpal to submit a surrender certificate before the Court.
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 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.
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, according to Tejpal’s plea.
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.
