Tejpal should have surrendered before filing appeal: Solicitor General to Supreme Court

The Solicitor General urged the Supreme Court to require former Tehelka editor-in-chief, Tarun Tejpal, to surrender before appealing his conviction for rape. Mehta argued that Order XX Rule 3 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, obligates the appellant to surrender, and cited a two-judge bench judgment from the SC supporting this mandate.

Tejpal's lawyer, Kapil Sibal, countered that the High Court had already granted a four-week window for Tejpal to surrender, and that the rule does not apply because a stay has been granted by the High Court. The court ruled that Sibal had not addressed the merits of the application seeking exemption from surrender and scheduled the matter for consideration on August 25, 2026.

The case stems from allegations of Tejpal assaulting a female journalist in November 2013, which he was acquitted of in May 2021. However, the Goa government appealed the decision, arguing that the trial court's appreciation of evidence was unreasonable and perverse.