Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Goa government has moved the Supreme Court seeking a life sentence for former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, challenging the 10-year imprisonment awarded to him in the 2013 rape and sexual harassment case.
The state has maintained that it is not questioning the Bombay High Court’s findings on Tejpal’s conviction. Instead, its petition argues that the punishment imposed is inadequate considering the seriousness of the offences established by the High Court.
The High Court, on August 6, overturned Tejpal’s acquittal by the sessions court in 2021 and found him guilty of rape involving a person in a position of trust or authority, rape involving control or dominance over a woman, sexual harassment, and using criminal force with the intention of disrobing a woman.
The court also ordered Tejpal to surrender within two weeks following the conviction and sentencing.
The case relates to allegations that Tejpal sexually assaulted a junior female colleague inside a hotel elevator in Goa in November 2013. He was arrested later that month and spent about seven months in custody before being granted bail by the Supreme Court in July 2014.
During the sentencing proceedings before the High Court, Tejpal’s counsel sought leniency, citing the considerable time that had elapsed since the incident.
The Goa government has now urged the Supreme Court to enhance the punishment to life imprisonment, arguing that the sentence should adequately reflect the findings and gravity of the offences established by the High Court.
