Court to frame charges in Tarun Tejpal case tomorrow; he is accused of raping a junior colleague (file)
A Goa court will frame charges on Thursday against journalist Tarun Tejpal, who is accused of sexually assaulting a junior colleague four years ago. The Bombay High Court has rejected Mr Tejpal's plea to stall the framing of charges till it decides on his petition to drop the case against him. The former editor of Tehelka magazine says the case is "absolutely false," motivated by "political vendetta," and that there is no evidence against him.
Here is your 10-point cheat-sheet to this story:
A woman journalist working in Tehelka had in November 2013, accused the magazine's founder-editor of sexually assaulting her during an event in Goa. The young woman said Mr Tejpal, 50, had assaulted her inside an elevator of a five-star hotel during the ThinkFest conference organised by Tehelka.
The woman complained to her seniors at Tehelka and a series of leaked emails between her, Mr Tejpal and Tehelka's then Managing Editor Shoma Chaudhary, were published by media. Based on the media reports, the Goa police began an investigation.
The woman quit her job later that month. Tarun Tejpal stepped down as Tehelka Editor soon after, saying he was "recusing" himself for six months. He was arrested on November 30, 2013.
The police have said that CCTV footage from the hotel corroborates the woman's allegations against Mr Tejpal.
In a 2,684-page chargesheet filed before the Goa fast-track court, the police said that Tarun Tejpal assaulted the woman twice and that there is enough evidence to prove charges of rape, sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of a woman.
Tarun Tejpal has denied all charges and has told judges that false allegations have been made against him as part of "political vendetta" by the BJP government in Goa because of his criticism of the party.
He moved the Bombay High Court after the district court in Goa's Mapusa refused to drop charges against him. The High Court has said that if the district court frames charges against Mr Tejpal, the recording of evidence, which marks the beginning of the trial, should be deferred.
The High Court will next hear the senior journalist's petition to drop charges on November 1.
"We have made a plea that the case against Tarun Tejpal is absolutely false. Hopefully the trauma that Tarun Tejpal is facing will end and the case will not go to trial. The State cannot act in a partisan manner. It has to present facts and as far as presenting facts is concerned, the state is far from doing that," Mr Tejpal's lawyer said yesterday.
Tarun Tejpal was lodged at the Sada sub-jail of Goa's Vasco for six months before the Supreme Court granted him bail in July 2014.
Post a comment