Tarun Tejpal surrenders before Goa court
Former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal appeared before a Goa court on Monday, surrendering after the Supreme Court denied his plea for exemption from the surrender order in a 2013 rape case. As a result, he was transferred to jail to serve a 10-year rigorous sentence. The Supreme Court had previously directed Tejpal to surrender within two weeks, allowing him to do so once he filed a surrender certificate for his appeal, which was scheduled to be heard on September 22.
The 62-year-old journalist was convicted following a 2013 sexual assault case, where a former colleague accused him of assaulting her in a hotel elevator during a Tehelka event in Goa. In May 2021, a Goa sessions court acquitted Tejpal of all charges, but the Goa government appealed against the acquittal to the Bombay High Court.
The High Court sentenced Tejpal to 10 years in prison, finding him guilty under IPC provisions, including Section 376(2)(f) related to rape by authority and Sections 354(a) and 354(b). Tejpal's lawyers argued that the incident occurred in 2013, he had already spent six months in jail, and they sought an early hearing of the appeal.
The Supreme Court rejected the plea, making filing the surrender certificate a condition for listing the appeal on September 22.
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