A high-profile sexual assault case that has lingered in India’s legal system for a decade reached a pivotal turning point this week, as the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court has overturned a 2021 acquittal and found veteran journalist and former Tehelka magazine editor Tarun Tejpal guilty of rape and sexual harassment.
The conviction was delivered under specific sections of Indian penal code covering sexual violence, according to reporting from Indian legal outlet LiveLaw. Sentencing for Tejpal is scheduled to take place later the same Thursday the verdict was issued.
The case dates back to November 2013, when the anonymous complainant—who cannot be named publicly under India’s legal protections for sexual assault survivors—alleged that Tejpal assaulted her in an elevator during a Tehelka-organized event held in Goa. Following the initial allegations, Tejpal was taken into custody and spent seven months behind bars before India’s Supreme Court granted him bail. In 2021, a lower Goa trial court dismissed all charges against the journalist, prompting the Goa state government to file an appeal challenging the ruling.
During the high court proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Goa government, pushed the court to deliver the harshest possible sentence. LiveLaw recorded Mehta’s statement to the bench, in which he argued: “This court must give a clear message to society that when a girl says no, it means no. A no means a no.”
Tejpal, 62, has maintained his innocence from the outset of the allegations. Speaking before the court ahead of sentencing, he framed himself as a political target of prosecution, according to quotes reported by legal platform Bar and Bench. “I believe I am a political victim. I am a father of two daughters. I have a wife. All we can say is we will go up and appeal. My lawyer wants me to request you to be lenient,” he told the court.
Under Indian judicial procedure, Tejpal retains the right to challenge the high court’s conviction in a higher appellate court, a step his legal team has already confirmed they intend to take.