Tarun Tejpal Challenges Conviction & 10-Year Sentence in SC!
Tarun Tejpal Challenges Conviction & 10-Year Sentence in SC!
Former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal moves Supreme Court against his sexual assault conviction and 10-year jail term. Goa government seeks life sentence! Get the full story.
Former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal has approached the Supreme Court, challenging his conviction and the 10-year jail sentence handed down by the Bombay High Court at Goa in a 2013 sexual assault case. This move comes just two days after the Goa government also filed a petition in the apex court, seeking to enhance Tejpal's sentence to life imprisonment, arguing that the current punishment is “grossly disproportionate” to the gravity of the offences.
Tejpal’s appeal seeks to overturn the High Court’s August 6 judgment, which had reversed his earlier acquittal by a trial court. He was convicted of raping a junior colleague in a Goa hotel elevator. His petition denies the allegations and questions the circumstances surrounding the complaint, contending that the case against him was fabricated and a result of political and institutional pressures.
The Supreme Court is now set to consider these cross-appeals, with Tejpal aiming to have his conviction quashed, and the Goa government pushing for a harsher penalty. The Goa government, while not challenging Tejpal’s conviction, believes the High Court did not adequately consider several aggravating circumstances it had itself noted during the conviction. Tejpal is required to surrender in the first week of September, as directed by the High Court.
