Tag: Tarun tejpal rape case

  • Tarun Tejpal case: Bombay HC adjourns hearing till September 20 

    By PTI

    PANAJI: The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on the Goa government’s appeal against journalist Tarun Tejpal’s acquittal in a 2013 rape case, pending request before the Chief Justice for a hybrid (physical plus virtual) hearing into the matter.

    The court fixed September 20 for next hearing.

    Till now, the matter was being heard online.

    On Tuesday, for the first time the matter was taken up physically, in the wake of the Goa government relaxing several COVID-19 curbs due to a drop in the number of the viral infection cases in the coastal state.

    Earlier this month, Tejpal in a submission before the HC sought an ‘in-camera’ hearing of the Goa government’s petition challenging his acquittal in the case, and sought its dismissal while raising preliminary objections on its maintainability.

    However, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Goa government, had at that time opposed Tejpal’s request for the ‘in-camera’ hearing, saying the “country has the right to know how the institution dealt with the girl (victim)”.

    On Tuesday, state Advocate General Devidas Pangam and a lawyer representing Tejpal sought time from a bench of Justices M S Sonak and M S Jawalkar, as they are yet to file their applications before the Chief Justice for the hybrid hearing into the matter.

    Pangam requested the bench to adjourn the matter by another two weeks to file the application before the Chief Justice.

    The bench then fixed the matter for hearing on September 20.

    Solicitor General Mehta was not present in the court on Tuesday.

    On May 21 this year, a sessions court acquitted Tejpal, the former editor-in-chief of the Tehelka magazine, in the case where he was accused of sexually assaulting his then colleague in a lift of a five-star hotel in Goa in November 2013 when they were attending an event.

    Later, the Goa government filed an appeal against it in the HC.

  • Verdict in Tarun Tejpal rape case on April 27: Police

    By PTI
    PANAJI: A sessions court in Goa will on April 27 pronounce its verdict in the 2013 rape case registered against Tarun Tejpal, former Editor-in-Chief of Tehelka magazine, a police officer said on Wednesday.

    Tejpal is accused of raping his journalist colleague inside an elevator of a five-star hotel in Goa in 2013 during an event organised by the news magazine.

    Additional district and sessions court judge Kshama Joshi heard final arguments in the Tejpal case on March 8 and fixed the matter for judgment to a later date.

    Investigating Officer Sunita Sawant told PTI that the court fixed the date of verdict on April 27.

    Tejpal faces charges under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 376 (2)(f) (person in position of authority over women, committing rape) and 376(2)(k) (rape by person in position of control) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

    The arguments in the matter were held in-camera by the North Goa district and sessions court in Mapusa town during which 71 prosecution witnesses and five defence witnesses were examined.

    The Goa crime branch had filed a 2,846 pages chargesheet against Tejpal in February, 2014.

    After the case was booked against him, Tejpal denied the allegations saying they were part of a “political vendetta” by the BJP government in Goa.