Tarun Tejpal Must Surrender Or Seek Exemption Before Appeal: Goa Govt Tells SC

Former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal must either surrender or seek exemption from the Supreme Court before his appeal against his conviction and 10-year prison sentence in the 2013 sexual assault case can be taken up, the Goa government told the court on Monday.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Goa government, made the submission before Justice Alok Aradhe while the matter was listed in the chamber proceedings, where cases are considered for preliminary or procedural issues before being placed before a regular bench.

“The existence of the appeal is dependent on either filing a certificate that he has surrendered or, alternatively, he will have to pray to Your Lordships to allow an exemption from surrendering. These are the two options,” Mehta submitted, emphasising the seriousness of the matter.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Tejpal, opposed the state’s argument and said the requirement to surrender should not apply in this case as the Bombay High Court at Goa had granted Tejpal four weeks’ time to surrender while refusing to stay his conviction.

“This general rule does not apply because this is a case where stay has been granted by the high court, so there is no question of applying this rule,” Sibal argued.

He maintained that Tejpal continued to remain protected under the high court’s order and therefore there was no basis to insist on his surrender before the appeal was heard.

“Why must I go to jail when I am protected?” Sibal asked, requesting the Supreme Court to list the appeal for hearing on August 31.

He further submitted, “If this court says no stay, I will have to go to jail. Allow me to argue the appeal and seek interim protection. If this court says we don’t think it is a case for bail, then I am inside.”

After hearing both sides, Justice Aradhe said the court would pass an appropriate order on Tejpal’s plea seeking exemption from surrender.

Tejpal moved the Supreme Court on August 20, challenging the August 6 judgment of the Bombay High Court at Goa, which overturned the trial court’s acquittal and convicted him on two counts of aggravated rape. The high court awarded him a 10-year jail term and imposed a total fine of ₹10 lakh.

While declining to stay the conviction, the high court allowed Tejpal four weeks to surrender before jail authorities following his request. He is therefore expected to surrender in the first week of September unless the Supreme Court grants relief.

The Goa government has separately filed a plea before the Supreme Court seeking an increase in Tejpal’s sentence to life imprisonment. The state has not challenged the conviction but has argued that the 10-year sentence does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the offences.

The government has also contested the high court’s decision to allow the sentences for the two aggravated rape charges to run concurrently. It has argued that the alleged incidents occurred on separate days and involved distinct acts of criminality.

In his appeal, Tejpal has denied the allegations and challenged the high court’s findings that resulted in his conviction. He has argued that the prosecution’s case was inconsistent with CCTV footage and questioned the circumstances surrounding the allegations.

The case dates back to November 2013, when a junior female colleague accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her twice inside an elevator at a Goa hotel during the Tehelka THiNK festival. Tejpal was arrested later that month and remained out on bail from July 2014.

A trial court acquitted him in May 2021, but the Bombay High Court at Goa reversed that decision on August 6 this year, observing that the trial court’s assessment of evidence was “not only unreasonable but perverse” and that it had relied on preconceived notions while evaluating the complainant’s testimony.