Tejpal Convicted: ‘I Believe I Am a Victim, Please Be Lenient With Me’, Says Ex-Tehelka Chief On Conviction In Rape Case

Thirteen years after a Goa hotel elevator became the center of one of India's most closely watched sexual assault cases, the Bombay High Court's Goa bench on Thursday reversed Tarun Tejpal's 2021 acquittal and convicted him of rape. What followed was a courtroom exchange as striking as the verdict itself,  a personal plea from the convicted editor set against a forceful demand from the prosecution that no leniency be shown.

The Verdict

A division bench of Justice Dr Neela Gokhale and Justice Amit Jamsandekar allowed the Goa government's appeal against the earlier acquittal, pronouncing Tejpal guilty under Sections 376(2)(f) and 376(2)(k) of the IPC,  rape by a person in a position of trust,  along with sexual harassment charges under Sections 354A and 354B. Sentencing will be heard separately.

Tejpal’s Defence: "Please Be Lenient With Me"

Addressing the bench directly, the 62-year-old former Tehelka editor-in-chief said, "I am 62, and I believe I am a victim." He told the court he has a wife, and that there wasn't much more to add. He said the possibility of an appeal remained open, and that the facts of the case were already on record, asking the judges plainly to be lenient with him. Senior Advocate Aabad Ponda followed by requesting an eight-week stay on the conviction to allow an appeal before the Supreme Court, arguing the offence was thirteen years old and that no other complaints existed against his client.

Prosecutor: "A Precedent Must Be Set"

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Goa government, rejected any suggestion of leniency in forceful terms. "When a girl says no, it means no," he told the court, arguing that this case demanded a clear precedent to society that authority and trust cannot be weaponised against a victim's will. The prosecution argued that Tejpal, decades older than the complainant and someone she regarded as a father figure,  close in age to his own daughter, had used that position of trust to press forward with advances even after she made her refusal unmistakable. The state also pointed to an apology email Tejpal sent days after the incident, in which he acknowledged pursuing the complainant despite her clear reluctance, evidence the prosecution said the trial court had wrongly sidelined while instead scrutinizing the survivor's own conduct.

A Case Thirteen Years in the Making

The complaint was lodged in November 2013; Tejpal was arrested within days and later released on bail by the Supreme Court in 2014. Charges were framed in 2017, and 71 witnesses were examined before Special Judge Kshama Joshi acquitted him in May 2021, citing insufficient corroborative evidence.  

Read More: Bombay HC Convicts Former Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal In 2013 Sexual Assault Case