SC Orders Tarun Tejpal To Surrender In Two Weeks

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal to surrender within two weeks, refusing his plea seeking exemption from surrendering while his appeal against his conviction and 10-year prison sentence in the 2013 Goa sexual assault case remains pending.

A bench headed by Justice Alok Aradhe rejected Tejpal’s application and asked him to submit a surrender certificate. The court said that if the certificate is filed on or before September 22, his appeal will be listed for hearing on the same date, Hindustan Times reported

Appearing for Tejpal, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Aman Lekhi argued that there was no legal requirement for a convicted person to surrender before a criminal appeal can be heard. Sibal referred to the Bombay High Court’s August 6 order, which had granted Tejpal four weeks to surrender, citing the age of the case, his status as a senior citizen and his roots in society.

“There is no legal condition that he must surrender before the appeal is listed,” Sibal told the court. He argued that sending Tejpal to custody for a short period before the appeal was taken up would serve no purpose. “There is no point to send him to jail for five days,” he said.

The Supreme Court, however, observed that the request for exemption could not be considered without examining the seriousness of the offence and the punishment awarded. “We have to look into the nature of the offence and the sentence,” the bench said, while taking note of Sibal’s submission that the high court had overturned a trial court acquittal.

The direction follows Tejpal’s challenge to the Bombay High Court’s August 6 judgment, which set aside his acquittal by a Goa trial court and convicted him in the case. The high court sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The case dates back to November 2013, when a junior journalist accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside a hotel elevator in Goa during an event organised by Tehelka magazine. Tejpal was arrested on November 30, 2013, and faced charges under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including rape, sexual harassment and assault with intent to disrobe. He denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.

A Goa sessions court had acquitted Tejpal in May 2021, observing that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. The Goa government later challenged the acquittal before the Bombay High Court, which overturned the trial court’s verdict and convicted him.

Tejpal subsequently approached the Supreme Court against the high court’s order. The Goa government has also filed a plea seeking enhancement of the sentence, arguing that the 10-year punishment does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the offences.

Following his conviction, Tejpal had told the high court that he was 62 years old, had two children and claimed that he was being targeted due to political reasons.