Anand Patwardhan questioned Tarun Tejpal’s rape conviction by the Bombay High Court.
Patwardhan cited CCTV footage while questioning what happened inside the lift.
Bombay High Court overturned Tejpal’s 2021 acquittal and sentenced him.
Filmmaker Anand Patwardhan has sparked controversy after questioning Tarun Tejpal’s rape conviction by the Bombay High Court. In a Facebook comment, Patwardhan questioned whether Tejpal’s actions amounted to rape and suggested that political considerations may have influenced the court’s verdict.
The case concerns a former junior colleague who accused Tarun Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside a hotel lift during Tehelka’s ThinkFest in Goa in November 2013. The Bombay High Court recently overturned his 2021 acquittal and convicted him, sentencing him to 10 years in prison.
Anand Patwardhan on Tarun Tejpal conviction
Responding to a Facebook post by journalist K A Shaji that was shared by Geeta Seshu, Patwardhan said Tehelka had been a major critic of Narendra Modi and the BJP before the 2014 elections. “It is complicated. Tehelka was a major thorn in the flesh of Modi and the BJP, and of course they did everything to destroy it in the lead-up to the 2014 elections,” he wrote.
Patwardhan then questioned the rape conviction, citing CCTV footage showing Tejpal and the woman entering and leaving the lift. He wrote that he did not believe a violent incident had taken place inside the lift, where there was no CCTV.
He also questioned the High Court verdict, writing, “Now the high court has found him guilty. That is no surprise either, for increasingly the BJP gets what it wants from our courts.”
The High Court, however, criticised the earlier trial court’s approach to the complainant and rejected the notion of an ideal victim while overturning Tejpal’s acquittal.
Anand Patwardhan’s earlier controversies
Patwardhan also became prominent in 2015 after returning his National Award along with other filmmakers while protesting what they described as growing intolerance and threats to diversity and free speech.
He had also previously spoken about violence in Malda, saying he opposed the violence but linked it to derogatory comments about Prophet Mohammed by a Hindu Mahasabha leader.
His latest remarks have now drawn attention to his position on the Tejpal case, particularly his questioning of the conviction and comments about the judiciary.
